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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 28: Construction on "The Claw" a 90-foot-tall, open-air, dome-like lighting and staging grid to house the UFC Octagon continues on the South Lawn of the White House on May 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is hosting an outdoor fight card called "UFC Freedom 250" at the White House on Sunday, June 14, 2026, to celebrate America's 250th birthday and US President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images) | Getty Images
U.S. president Donald Trump has responded to critics regarding the massive stage setup being built on the White House lawn to host UFC Freedom 250, suggesting maybe he’ll leave it there forever following the fights on Sunday, June 14th.
Those of us in the MMA bubble have been reading for months about UFC CEO Dana White’s plan to build a gigantic structure nicknamed ‘The Claw’ to provide proper lighting for the fights while also keeping sight lines clear so the White House can be seen at all angles. But for a lot of people in the normal, non-MMA news world, it was quite a shock when construction started last week on the massive metal monstrosity.
With the White House’s east wing now torn down for a future bunker / ballroom and a half-built cagefighting arena on the South Lawn, haters have said the White House resembles a property “taken over by meth heads.”
And how has Trump responded to these criticisms? By doubling down and implying he might leave ‘The Claw’ there following the fights.
“Many don’t know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower, 1889, it was built, it was supposed to be taken down immediately after the World’s Fair,” Trump said on his official TikTok account. “And then they said, ‘You know, we sort of like it. Let’s leave it up a little bit longer!’ And then they said, ‘Let’s leave it up longer and longer and longer.’”
“Well, they never took it down. And, you know, we’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people. It’s going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I’m looking at it, and maybe we’ll never, ever take it down!”
It’s hard to know when Trump is joking or serious … it took weeks to go from ‘The Donald’ announcing a UFC event on the White House lawn to people realizing it wasn’t a random fleet of fancy. Now we’re less than two weeks away from UFC Freedom 250, and it’s safe to say he was serious. Could ‘The Claw’ stay? We have our doubts, but with Trump, you never know.
UFC White House 2 in September, anyone?
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