Dana White appeared on talkSPORT Boxing this week, and talked about how President Donald Trump is surprised by the scale of construction underway for the upcoming UFC White House event.
Referencing the recent spectacle staged by Turki Al-Sheikh at the Pyramids of Giza, the interviewer asked White whether the upcoming White House event was shaping up to be something similarly historic, especially with aerial images already surfacing of the massive claw structure being assembled on the grounds.
White made it clear the scale of the event has already impressed one very important figure.
“Yeah, I mean, literally this weekend the president called me two different days in a row,” White said. “Called me yesterday and the day before, and he is blown away by what’s going on over there already.”
According to White, President Donald Trump has been personally following the development of the event and has been surprised by how quickly and dramatically the production is coming together at the White House grounds.
White then expanded on the expected scale of the weekend, emphasizing that the event will stretch far beyond a standard fight night atmosphere.
“This thing is going to be incredible,” he said. “It’s going to be an incredible event, whether you are one of the 4,000 people on the South Lawn or one of the almost 200,000 people that will go through the Ellipse through the weekend. It’s gonna be incredible.”
The White House card will also cap off a hectic stretch for White. Just one week earlier, Zuffa Boxing heads to Bournemouth for its June 6 event in the United Kingdom. From there, attention will immediately shift back to the United States for what White repeatedly described as an extraordinary event on the grounds of the most famous residence in the world.
The proposed White House event is expected to be part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. The card is currently expected to be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, while Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane are also reportedly set to compete for the interim heavyweight title.
