By Evaristo Lara
President Donald Trump’s desire to Setting up a function of the Ideal Struggling with Championship (UFC) on the south lawn of the White House, as part of the agenda to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, but above all to celebrate its 80th birthday, will cost more than $60 million dollars.
Since July of last year, the New York magnate announced his intention to organize a UFC card as part of the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of independence.
The declaration with which the formal separation of the British Empire was achieved and with it American independence was signed on July 4, 1776, so Trump considered it appropriate to celebrate this event by setting up an octagon in a space near the official residence and offering a great performance of mixed martial arts, a sport of which he has long been a fan.
Under that approach, work began on the preparations under the advice of Dana White, president of the UFC, and in mid-May it was announced that the evening would include five fights, of which the fundamental one will be a duel between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje where the lightweight title will be in dispute.
Three weeks in advance, the assembly of the first structures of a huge stage began.
Although UFC officials anticipate that the million-dollar prizes to be distributed among the winners of the fights will be covered entirely by Crypto.com, court documents project that the cost of the event will exceed $60 million.
This amount of money covers the assembly of the octagon, food and payment of the 900 workers in charge of installing the stands for the public attending next Sunday’s evening, as well as the rest of the expenses.
“More than $60 million dollars and tens of thousands of hours of work have been invested in preparation. More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the South Lawnincluding more than 1,000 members of our armed forces, and more than 120,00 visitors are expected to witness the event from the nearby Ellipse after winning free tickets in a lottery,” details part of a document recently presented by the government.
During an interview given to the news platform The Hollywood Reporter, Label Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of TKO, parent company of the UFC, announced that he will not earn a single dollar from the event.
“We are not going to make money from the 250th anniversary of the United States. This is a long-term investment. It is about getting free media coverage. We view this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as a strategic investment to drive subscriber acquisition on Paramount+, a massive sample of the UFC’s audience in general and media coverage equivalent to that of the Substantial Bowl around the world,” he said.
Keep reading:
• Donald Trump plans to organize a Mixed Martial Arts fight at the White House
• The White House intends to set a Guinness record during the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
• Trump bought UFC shares while promoting fight in the White House
