EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández heads into Sunday's Club World Cup final wary of the weather, along with Paris Saint-Germain.
“Honestly, the heat is incredible,” Fernandez said Friday. “The other day I got a little dizzy during a play. I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy. Playing in this temperature in very dangerous."
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Chelsea's starting players pose for a team photo at the beginning of a Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Benfica and Chelsea in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Paris Saint-Germain's starting 11 pose for a team photo before the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between PSG and Real Madrid in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio (1) kicks the ball during the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense and Chelsea in East Rutherford, N.J., Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez reacts at the end of the Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Palmeiras and Chelsea in Philadelphia, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
FIFA slashed ticket prices again ahead of the final, as it has throughout the tournament.
Chelsea and PSG play starting at 3 p.m. EDT in MetLife Stadium, also site of next year's World Cup final. Because of the heat, Fernandez recommended FIFA avoid afternoon kickoffs at the 2026 tournament.
“The speed of the game is not the same,” he said. “Everything becomes very slow. Well, let’s hope that next year they change the schedule, at least so that it remains a beautiful and attractive football spectacle.”
Temperature at kickoff is forecast to be 83 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius) with humidity that will make it feel like 91 F (33 C).
"The game will be harder for the team that don’t have the ball,” Chelsea captain Reece James said. “I think we’ve played in it a fair amount now, so I’d say we’re slowly, slowly getting used to it.”
Both teams were allowed by FIFA not to have media availabilities on Saturday.
PSG seeks to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and its first Champions League title.
Chelsea is trying for its second world championship after winning in 2021. The Blues have a fourth day of rest after beating Fluminense 2-0 on Tuesday, a day before PSG routed Real Madrid 4-0.
Lowest ticket prices dropped from $330 earlier in the week to $199.60 on Saturday.
“I agree with most of the people that they say that they are the best team in Europe, the best team in the world, and the reason why is because they are showing this — they show in France, they show in the Champions League, they are showing in this competition," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said.
PSG clinched the French league title on April 5 with six games to spare, won the French Cup on May 24 and the Champions League a week later, romping over Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.
“We really want to go grab this title and this would make it an absolutely perfect season, which would be very hard to replicate," PSG captain Marquinhos said. “We really want to make history.”
Chelsea had a more modest season, finishing fourth in the Premier League, losing to Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup, to Newcastle in the fourth round of the League Cup and winning the third-tier UEFA Conference League.
“Everyone is picking up our opposition,” James said. “We are preparing right and we are going to win.”
NOTES: Maresca said winger Noni Madueke had left the team to sign elsewhere.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Chelsea's starting players pose for a team photo at the beginning of a Club World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Benfica and Chelsea in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Paris Saint-Germain's starting 11 pose for a team photo before the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between PSG and Real Madrid in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio (1) kicks the ball during the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense and Chelsea in East Rutherford, N.J., Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez reacts at the end of the Club World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Palmeiras and Chelsea in Philadelphia, Friday, July 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fueled by a dose of high-octane patriotism, President Donald Trump and UFC boss Dana White walked out from the Oval Office to chants of “USA!” to greet military members and political dignitaries set to watch one of the more surreal spectacles in sports and even in the nation's capital: cage fighting on the White House lawn.
A long-time fight fan with a 25-year professional relationship with White, Trump turned 80 on Sunday and fans gathered on a gloomy night on the South Lawn cheered when one fan yelled out “happy birthday!”
Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia opened UFC Freedom 250 in a featherweight bout under the structure known as the Claw, a four-sided mass that arcs more than 90 feet (27 meters) into the air and features lights, speakers, thick snakes of wiring and four large screens so fans not seated right next to the Octagon can follow the cage fighting below.
Garcia walked out of the White House draped in an American flag and accompanied by two police officers. Lopes walked out to the Mexican song “La Chona.”
Fans were as quiet for the start of the main card Sunday as they might be for the preliminary fights held hours before a pay-per-view event in a normal fight arena, such as Madison Square Garden. Closer to the Rose Garden, fans did come alive when Lopes landed a flurry of punches to knock out Garcia in the second round.
The show was steeped in pageantry and stands as an outlier among UFC events. The Marine Band played from in front of the White House and Zac Brown sang the national anthem — which is never played before normal UFC fight cards because of the mix of nationalities fighting inside the Octagon. The Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds zipped overhead as part of a flyover.
UFC’s ring girls, who normally parade around the cage in skimpy outfits, were covered up for a more PG-rated fight night. The women were stylishly dressed in more full-body outfits, some that flowed past the knee or to the ground, that incorporated the American flag into the designs.
Bruce Buffer's voice thundered from the cage as always for fight introductions, and his star-spangled threads fit the occasion: gold stars on the outside of his suit coat and mini American flags stitched inside.
Hours after the United States and Iran reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began, the White House — long known as the people’s house and a symbol of American democracy — opened its backyard to stage the fights.
More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.
UFC is staging seven fights with all male fighters under the Freedom 250 banner to celebrate Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.
The fight card headlined by two title fights on Paramount+ was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Eastern. The official televised portion of the show started closer to 30 minutes later and the first fight went off closer to 9 p.m.
Strong thunderstorms and heavy lightning disrupted Friday’s Lincoln Memorial promotional event, and the forecast for Sunday evening also looked menacing.
White said the show will go on rain or shine.
The rare UFC outdoors event marked the pinnacle of the relationship between White and Trump that has yielded personal, political and financial dividends for both parties. White's first card as UFC president came in 2001 at an event held at Trump Taj Mahal.
Trump has attended four UFC cards as sitting president, walking to the cage amid rock music and patriotic chants from fans much like the fighters themselves. White introduced Trump at two Republican National Conventions. White also attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April that was cut short by a shooting.
In a card that has been panned by fans online as underwhelming, Alex Pereira of Brazil will meet Ciryl Gane of France for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria then takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.
There are five other fights on the main card that include former title-fight participants Michael Chandler and Derrick Lewis and former 135-pound champion Sean O’Malley.
Not everyone was able to get tickets to the big event.
Even one of UFC's champions.
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse event by a group of police officers and taken into a Park Police van Sunday.
Once a vocal supporter of Trump, Strickland has recently said on social media that he was not invited to participate in the event at the White House because he is an outspoken critic of Israel.
Strickland was wearing a black anorak jacket and was barefoot. It wasn’t immediately clear why law enforcement led him away.
White has rejected Strickland’s accusation that he was banned from UFC Freedom 250 events.
“Nobody is banned. Nothing is banned,” White told reporters earlier this month.
AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
President Donald Trump and Dana White, UFC president and CEO, arrive for UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A joint forces honor guard stands during the National Anthem before UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Diego Lopes is introduced during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House from the top of the Washington Monument on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump and Dana White, UFC president and CEO, arrive on the Blue Room Balcony for the National Anthem before UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump walks with UFC president and CEO Dana White through the Cross Hall of the White House before attending the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
Army soldiers hold a grappling demonstration during the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest on The Ellipse ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool Photo via AP)
Storm clouds move above the Washington Monument ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool Photo via AP)
UFC president and CEO Dana White, center, with Ilia Topuria, left, and Justin Gaethje, right, during the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) CORRECTION: Changes name from Joe Rogan to Dana White.
The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights is pictured on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
UFC commentator Joe Rogan during the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights is pictured on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
UFC commentator Joe Rogan, center, with Ilia Topuria, left, and Justin Gaethje, right, during the ceremonial UFC Freedom 250 weigh-ins on the Ellipse, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in Washington, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
