The White House UFC fight in the US and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday hit with a legal challenge just a week before the event.
UFC Freedom 250, which is all set to take place on June 14, on the White House's South Lawn as part of celebrations to mark 250 years of independence, faces “unlawful” claims after a lawsuit claims that the president did not seek proper approval to host the fight, BBC reported.
As per the federal lawsuit filed on Saturday, June 6, on behalf of two Virginia residents, it asked the judge to stop the event violating US National Park Service regulations that prohibit sporting events on federal parklands.
The lawsuit said, “The President is giving [Dana] White and his company what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to stage a private, for-profit sports event with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access.”
It called the event “deeply corrupt" and argued that Congress did not consent to the construction of a towering arch overlooking the event space.
Brendan Ballou, lead attorney for the Public Integrity Project, said, “We think that this is a profound misuse of our sacred national monuments for private gain. And we think that needs to be stopped because it breaks the law.”
He revealed the motivation behind the lawsuit is to stop the “private, commercial, corrupt” use of most sacred national monuments for “private gains".
Meanwhile, the Trump administration in a response told ESPN, "This is an obstructionist, baseless and dilatory lawsuit brought simply to prevent President Trump from hosting what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most historic sporting events in our nation's history during our semiquincentennial celebration."
Furthermore, in the UFC Freedom 250, lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will fight interim champ Justin Gaethje for both belts and to become undisputed champion, while Ciryl Gane will fight Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title.
