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By Andrew Stanton
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U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, rejected an attempt to block Sunday's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) card at the White House.
A lawsuit over the event was filed on June 6 by activists Susan Douglas and Paul Romano against the National Park Service and other federal defendants, arguing that it is “deeply corrupt.” They alleged that the UFC and its commercial partners are being allowed to profit from access to some of the nation's most iconic federal sites.
Why Obama-Appointed Judge Rejected UFC Event Challenge
On Friday, however, Mehta rejected a request to halt the fight at the White House, finding that the plaintiffs failed to “establish both a substantial likelihood of standing and irreparable harm.” He also ruled that the “equities and public interest weigh against emergency relief.”
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He found that any harms the plaintiffs may face over the fight are “decidedly temporary” as the arena outside the White House is not permanent.
He said they have “not established a substantial likelihood of standing” and that the “public interest weighs against the court wading into a dispute when jurisdiction is less than certain.”
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He also pointed to the timing of the case, noting that significant time, labor and funding have already gone into organizing the event.
“The potential loss of those dollars resulting from a last-minute, court-ordered stoppage cannot be ignored,” he wrote.
Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, which represented the plaintiffs, told Newsweek he was "disappointed" by the ruling.
"This isn’t a case about a sporting event, it’s about corruption, as a handful of people and companies stand to profit from our public monuments," he said. "While we’re disappointed in this decision, we of course respect it, and we’ll keep bringing cases to raise the cost of corruption in America."
Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, responded to the ruling in a statement to Newsweek.
“The court rightly rejected an untimely and frivolous effort to halt the historic UFC event hosted to honor the 250th anniversary of our Nation," he said. "The White House is thankful for this correct decision and looks forward to hosting this once-in-a-lifetime celebration on the South Lawn.”
What to Know About UFC Fight Lawsuit
Ballou told the Associated Press that the event is "fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain." The White House, however, has cast the lawsuit as "obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory."
The complaint alleged that the event violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting commercial sporting events on specific federal park lands, lacked necessary congressional authorization for the temporary structures erected at the White House and bypassed mandatory environmental reviews.
When Will White House UFC Event Take Place?
The main event is scheduled for Sunday, coinciding with Flag Day and President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. Preliminary matches begin at 4 p.m. ET, with the main event starting at 8. UFC CEO Dana White has described the event as the “historic sporting event in history, and it’s a night where every single fight has the potential to be Fight of the Night.”
The event is part of the administration’s semicentennial programming. Other planned events include an IndyCar race that will pass by the White House and the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.
Who Will Be There?
The following UFC stars will be at the event, according to a press release from the UFC:
- Ilia Topuria
- Justin Gaethje
- Alex Pereira
- Ciryl Gane
How to Watch White House UFC Event
The event is expected to be broadcast on Paramount+.
Who Is Paying for White House UFC Fight?
The UFC is expected to pay about $60 million for the arena, according to a March Sports Business Journal interview with TKO President Mark Shapiro. White confirmed to the news outlet that the company, not the government, will pay the full cost. TKO is the parent company of the UFC.
“No, we’re eating the whole thing,” White said. “So yeah, it’s going to be a historic one-of-one fight, and just like I talked about with the Sphere, we’re going to make the Sphere look like f****** ash tray money.”
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