I was ready for the seven-fight UFC Freedom 250 extravaganza that took place on the White House South Lawn to be monstrosity, overshadowed by Trump and his hangers on. And when one of the fighters, Josh Hokit, emerged from the ring, and shouted to the audience “Michelle Obama is a man”, it looked as if that was about to happen.
That particular lie has become a favourite among online MAGA trolls, and Hokit was perhaps making it as a statement of allegiance to the Trump cause. It didn’t go down well. After the bout, Dana White, the boss of UFC, criticised Hokit, calling his comment about the former first lady “nasty”.
In another unfortunate incident, messages between a UFC commentator and Eric Trump came to light, in which the president’s son asked “Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged?” Eric was later forced to deny accusations that he was trying to cheat the betting markets.
The event was accompanied by a strong element of farce, as is perhaps usual for Trump. It was held on Flag Day, and was meant to be an early celebration of America’s 250th birthday. It just so happened to coincide with the president’s 80th birthday.
Despite the sport being so heavily associated with the MAGA movement, with many of its fighters and also Dana White being vocal supporters of Trump, if we try to strip away the accompanying circus, the sporting event itself managed to live up to the hype.
This was not always on the cards, even as the broadcast got underway. The opening minutes followed Trump and White as they strolled from the Oval Office, past the presidential walk of fame (where Joe Biden’s portrait has been childishly replaced with an autopen) to a balcony overlooking the South Lawn.
This scene began the more surreal moments that would punctuate the evening. Video packages celebrating America’s history, the country’s military prowess, farmers and first responders who died on 9/11 were interrupted by messages from commercial sponsors. These ranged from American beer and whiskey brands to limited edition commemorative UFC 250 gold and silver medallions, made by Trump Coin. Prices range from $250 to $12,000, according to the company website.
One of the more jarring moments of the evening came shortly after the tribute to 9/11 first responders, when the announcers explained that the card’s second fight was sponsored by Riyadh Season, an annual festival of cultural and sporting spectacles arranged by the government of Saudi Arabia. Critics have repeatedly accused Riyadh Season of being a deliberate effort to distract from the Kingdom’s human rights abuses.
The evening featured more bizarre moments, including an AI video of a moving oil painting, depicting great moments in American history, the climax of which was Trump with blood on his ear after the assassination attempt.
Many of the victorious fighters paid gushing tributes to Trump after their victories. Bo Nickal used his post-match interview to praise Trump for being a “special” person who had “the balls” to put on this event. This was followed by a marine band playing YMCA, a song now forever associated with Trump and his ludicrous dancing on the campaign trail.
And then came Josh Hokit, who also thanked Trump’s testicles, along with Jesus, before his now notorious outburst about Michelle Obama. And Bantamweight star Sean O’Malley turned to salute the president after knocking out Aiemann Zahabi, something he said he had “manifested” before the fight.
However, for all the weirdness, the fight card was as good – if not better – than your average UFC event in 2026.
My biggest fear tuning in was that the spectacle of the evening would overshadow what I hoped would be a truly special night for one person in particular: Justin Gaethje.
In my years of following this sport, I have always had a soft spot for Gaethje. This would be his third and probably final attempt to become the undisputed lightweight champion of the world. His first attempt came in 2020, when he was defeated by Khabib Nurmagomedov – considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.
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That night belonged to Nurmagomedov for many reasons beyond his victory. His father, the man who had coached him from a young age (famously by allowing him to wrestle real bears) had recently died following complications from Covid. After submitting Gaethje in dramatic circumstances – electing to choke him out rather than break his arm to spare Gaethje’s parents feelings – Nurmagomedov fell to the ground and wept for his dead father. Moments later, he shocked the world by announcing his early retirement from the sport with an undefeated record. It was a perfect moment that immortalised Nurmagomedov as a legend.
If that was Nurmagomedov’s perfect night, I hoped that UFC Freedom 250 would be Gaethje’s. He went into Sunday as an underdog. It is one of the cruelest quirks of sport that you can be as storied and elite a competitor as Gaethje, but never reach the top. As Gaethje said before the fight, at 37, this was likely to be his final shot.
His opponent, 29-year-old Ilia Topuria, went into the evening undefeated after 17 professional fights. He is an exceptional talent who had held UFC gold in the featherweight division before moving up to claim the lightweight title.
My worry was that even if Gaethje could overcome the formidable task in front of him, this crowning moment of his career – after which he may retire – would be eclipsed by the nonsense surrounding Trump, Hokit’s stupid remarks, and Eric Trump’s stupidity.
In the end, Gaethje won an all-time classic. Both men were ahead at different points in the fight, which was made to look all the more spectacular by the fog rolling through the cage. But after four rounds, Topuria’s team decided that his face had taken too much of a beating for him to continue.
Here, I will point out that Gaethje is a Trump supporter. After winning the fight, he rushed out of the cage to embrace Trump. He spoke passionately about what it meant to fight on the White House lawn. It was apparent that for Gaethje, winning here, with his family and his president in attendance, was the perfect way to become a legend.
I am not a Trump supporter and I hate how closely associated he has become with this sport I love and in the hours after the fight, the Hokit controversy all but overwhelmed the entire occasion.
I may not like the fact that, for Gaethje, there couldn’t have been a better way to realise his dream than on a stage where Trump was selling gold medallions with his face on for $12,000. But I am happy for Justin that he is happy – and, despite all the accompanying scandal, finally got his perfect moment to be immortalised as a legend.
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