UFC is set to hold its first event on the White House South Lawn with a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
UFC Freedom 250 is set for Sunday night.
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Construction continues on the arena on the South Lawn of the White House for a future UFC mixed martial arts fight, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Construction continues on the UFC mixed martial arts arena on the South Lawn of the White House, left, and the ballroom, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
A man rests on the grass near the Washington Monument as workers continue building the stage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, seen center top, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Workers continue building the stage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, left, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Washington, as work also continues on the construction of the ballroom, right. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Workers continue building the stage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
UFC CEO Dana White is friends with the president and the two have discussed for more than a year the idea of bringing mixed martial arts to the White House.
Their relationship dates to UFC’s infancy as White reorganized the company and led its rise into national prominence.
The cage and stage will themselves be surrounded by thousands of temporary seats, including ringside space for a full marching band that can set the entire scene to blaring music. The Zac Brown Band will perform the National Anthem.
The fight card is part of a series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776. Other planned events include an IndyCar race that will pass by the White House.
The main card airs live only on Paramount+ at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
There was some initial discussion that the show would be simulcast on television via CBS. The show instead will only air domestically on the subscription service. Paramount, which is controlled by the Ellison family, also close allies of Trump, this year became the new home to UFC events across the United States
It was a shift away from UFC’s long-time pay-per-view model. Paramount and UFC parent company TKO said the change will allow the mixed martial arts programming to reach more consumers nationwide.
Paramount+ plans start at $8.99 a month.
The card has been panned by fans online as underwhelming and features just two championship fights.
Brazil’s Alex Pereira will meet France’s Ciryl Gane 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.
White says the outdoor show will go on rain or shine.
The mid-week forecast on Weather.com called for rain showers early with overcast skies late Sunday and temperatures around 70 degrees around the time of the first fight.
The main venue has 4,500 seats but thousands more are expected to watch in the open air at the Ellipse, a prominent public park south of the White House.
AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
Construction continues on the arena on the South Lawn of the White House for a future UFC mixed martial arts fight, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Construction continues on the UFC mixed martial arts arena on the South Lawn of the White House, left, and the ballroom, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
A man rests on the grass near the Washington Monument as workers continue building the stage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, seen center top, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Workers continue building the stage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, left, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Washington, as work also continues on the construction of the ballroom, right. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Workers continue building the stage for a future UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were set on fire overnight in an apparent Israeli settler attack, officials said Sunday, after a spate of deadly violence that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
The violence comes as Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians, which is threatening to ignite widespread violence across the territory.
Israeli soldiers and police fanned out across the West Bank after the attack, closing off major roads and blocking access to a hospital where it said two militants were hiding. Israel also arrested more than 70 Palestinians over the weekend as they attempted to contain the escalating violence.
The mosques, in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the northern West Bank, suffered extensive damage in the fires. In Qusra, the attackers spray-painted “revenge Benayahu,” referring to one of the Israeli soldiers killed on Friday, and “the land of Israel is redeemed with blood.” The soldier lived in a nearby settlement.
Ahmed Abu Mahmoud, 64, who lives next door to the Qusra mosque, said he heard noises at 3 a.m. and discovered the mosque had been set on fire. The fire was too large for him to fight on his own, so he called for help. Mahmoud said livestock and a drinking tank had been stolen in the past month, but that Israeli authorities hadn’t helped. “The military arrived here saw with their own eyes and then left,” he said Sunday.
Security footage in Kour obtained by The Associated Press showed three people dressed in civilian clothes setting off a large explosion in the entrance of the mosque in the middle of the night. On Sunday, residents held prayers despite damage to the entrance.
Israel's military said it was working with police to investigate the mosque attack.
“The security forces strongly condemn incidents of this kind, including harm to religious sites, and will continue to act decisively to maintain security and public order in the area,” it said.
The Israeli army often announces investigations into violence against Palestinians, but rarely makes arrests or prosecutes settlers involved in violence.
The military also reported it had sealed the homes of two of Palestinian militants suspected of killing the soldiers in preparation for their demolition. Israel often demolishes the homes of attackers, claiming it deters future attacks.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said troops entered villages across the West Bank to seize weapons and make arrests. “We are also prepared to operate on a broader scale against the terrorist nests,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in the Middle East at the end of his weekly Sunday prayer. He called on both sides to find a negotiated solution and to “reject new military actions and unilateral decisions, in particular those that violate the respect and status quo of the holy places of every religious faith.”
The exact circumstances of Friday’s deadly incidents remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials said they were sparked after a group of settlers entered the village of Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an attack.
According to the Israeli military, one of the Palestinians took one of the settlers’ weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard from a nearby settlement.
The towns and villages surrounding Nablus sit in one of the most violent parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed Israeli settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank this year, including 21 by Israeli settlers. Three Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants in 2026, including the two soldiers on Friday.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements be illegal and obstacles to peace.
Children stand outside a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026, as on its wall a Hebrew graffiti reads "Revenge Benayahu", referring to an Israeli settler killed during clashes with Palestinians in the village of Tell, last Friday. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israeli soldiers operate in the West Bank Palestinians city of Nablus, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad)
Israeli soldiers operate in the West Bank Palestinians city of Nablus, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad)
Children stand outside a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026, as on its wall a Hebrew graffiti reads "Revenge Benayahu", referring to an Israeli settler killed during clashes with Palestinians in the village of Tell, last Friday. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A Palestinian man prays inside a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
