Time to rage in the cage at the White House. UFC the main event at Trump's 80th birthday bash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump walked out to the strains of Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass" and a roaring standing ovation just before he took a familiar cageside seat at a 2024 UFC event at Madison Square Garden. Long a fan of cage fighting before he entered the political arena, Trump has rooted on the bloodthirsty bouts and congratulated winners — he likes winners so much — for more than 25 years at UFC shows from Florida to New York to New Jersey.

He's just never had a home game.

Trump's next walkout will be the president's shortest one yet, from the Oval Office to the Octagon for the implausible sports spectacle on the South Lawn of the White House billed as UFC Freedom 250.

The mixed martial arts show on Sunday night that is streaming on Paramount+ is timed for Trump’s 80th birthday and the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

First there was the fight for independence! Now the biggest fight of 'em all is for the lightweight championship!

Or something like that.

Trump first publicly floated the idea of a UFC fight night at the White House at a July 2025 rally in Iowa and promised a “full fight” with 20,000 to 25,000 people. Some of the top stars in the sport lobbied — it is Washington, after all — for a spot on the card; Conor McGregor wrote on social media, “ Count me in.”

Count McGregor out. Same for Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey, who took her comeback match to Netflix rather than a date in Washington on UFC's streaming service. As for those 25,000 fans on site, that's a bit of a hyperbolic political speech from the president, with about 4,000-plus people expected at the temporary arena; but outside, up to 120,000 fans, who won free admission via lottery, are expected to watch in the open air at the Ellipse, a prominent public park south of the White House.

The true star of the $60 million-plus show is the unprecedented setting where a cage was constructed on the traditional site of the Easter egg roll every spring. The White House had to make room for 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.

The undertaking might seem crazy to those who diss the fight game or have unfavorable reviews of the current administration.

It's just another day for Trump, who is still navigating a war with Iran, attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April that was cut short by a shooting, boasted this week about his love of soaring inflation, shut down parts of Manhattan when he attended an NBA Finals game in New York and even had the staging of the Freedom 250 challenged by a federal lawsuit that was rejected Friday.

So, the show will go on for UFC.

Oh yeah. The fights!

The seven-bout card has largely been ignored outside of the MMA diehards, with all the hype of what UFC CEO Dana White has called a “1 of 1 event" focused more on the uniqueness of fighters training in front of the Washington Monument and a news conference at the Lincoln Memorial, among other promotional stops around the nation's capital.

“It's going to be a pain in the ass getting in and out of there," White said. “Once you’re in, it’s going to be incredible. As long as the weather is good, it’s going to be amazing.”

White says the outdoor show will go on rain or shine. The Friday night news conference at the Lincoln Memorial was delayed for about an hour because of lightning.

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.

Middleweight Bo Nickal, a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Penn State, has forged a friendly relationship with Trump after they met in 2019 at the White House during a ceremony for collegiate national champions.

“As somebody who is as powerful and busy and doing all the things that he's doing, he does take time out of his day to give me a call once in a while,” said Nickal, who takes on Philadelphia fighter Kyle Daukaus. “I've been golfing with him a couple of times. It's surreal to be able to do that. I grew up in a town of 5,000 people in Wyoming, and to be able to golf with the president and hang out with him is like, unbelievable.”

Up next, Nickal gets to fight in front of him.

He just won't fight on national broadcast television.

Rather than air the show or at least portions of the card on CBS, the Freedom 250 is being used to drive subscriptions on Paramount, which is controlled by the Ellison family, also close allies of Trump, and this year became the new home to UFC events across the United States as part of a $7.7 billion, seven-year deal.

White had vowed Super Bowl-type viewership (125.6 million this year) after the date was announced, though streaming will severely curtail those numbers. If UFC and Paramount can snag some subscribers though casual viewers interested in either patriotism or a potential trainwreck, maybe they'll become new fans.

Just getting to the White House is the big win.

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

Members of the media view the arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Members of the media view the arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The arena for the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the South Lawn of the White House is photographed Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Audience members cheer and boo during a UFC news conference at the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

UFC President and CEO Dana White speaks during a UFC news conference at the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of Sunday's fight on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United States and Iran once again appear close to a deal to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that a deal aimed at ending the war in the Middle East is closer than ever before and expected to be finalized within 24 hours. Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the agreement, followed by technical-level talks next week.

But the White House did not answer questions about where things stood in negotiations or when a deal might be signed. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said no signing would occur Sunday, while leaving the possibility open for the coming days.

Previous declarations of an imminent breakthrough failed to materialize.

Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel earlier in the week, threatening to push the region back into a full-scale war. U.S. Central Command late Friday said on social media that it intercepted Iranian attack drones targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.

Here's what to know:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday the terms of dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed and that the parties could decide to extend that period.

The U.S. and Israel fear Iran’s nuclear program could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.

The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing the uranium. The official did not say who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to be entombed under three nuclear sites battered by U.S. strikes last year.

The U.S. official said the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the strait. Iran imposed a toll system during the war, which the U.S. and other nations have said violates international law.

Transit through the strait, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas, has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics like fertilizer more expensive well beyond the region.

Three regional officials said the emerging deal was expected to include the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

They said they expect a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.

Iran has insisted that any deal must also include a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Fighting continued in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

Weissert reported from Washington and Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

A woman walks past an anti-American mural on the wall of the former U.S. Embassy, now a museum, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)