Today's Edition
![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://link.aletihad.ae/JbUR&media=http://cdn1-m.alittihad.ae/store/archive/image/2026/6/14/e90e7c12-b39c-4fa6-9e2f-217c0e14e081.jpg&description=Trump turns 80 with "UFC Freedom 250" cage fight at White House)
WASHINGTON (AFP)
Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday in typically forceful style on Sunday, as the oldest US president ever to take office holds a cage match on the White House lawn.
The unprecedented "UFC Freedom 250" event will see 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship stars fight each other in a giant arena called The Claw.
Costing $60 million, it's linked to this year's festivities for the 250th anniversary of US independence -- but it also happens to fall on the day that Trump enters his ninth decade.
The billionaire president -- who has deep ties with a sport whose young male fans reflect his own political base -- defended the UFC event as a unique spectacle.
"This is going to be an event you're really gonna like," Trump said as he hosted some of the muscle-bound, bare-knuckle fighters in the Oval Office in May.
The White House says the UFC is bearing the entire cost.
UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari denied blending sport with politics.
"The way we look at this is we have an unbelievable, incredibly unique opportunity to celebrate this country and our athletes," Borsari told a news conference this week.
'Great fighting machine'
In a dramatic touch, some of the top fighters taking part in Sunday's event are reportedly set to emerge from the Oval Office itself before marching out to the historic South Lawn.
The fights themselves will take place in the Octagon, an eight-sided wire mesh cage, surrounded by seats for more than 4,000 spectators.
UFC combatant Michael Chandler, who is fighting on Sunday, said it was the "biggest fight event in combat sports history."
French fighter Ciryl Gane also said he was focusing on the sporting element.
There will be a nod to the 250th celebrations with historical "vignettes" between bouts, Axios reported, and there will also be military bands, a US military flyover and parachute display and a 10-minute fireworks finale.
Trump admitted that he was "not happy about that birthday that I'm having," in a video posted by one of his officials this week. "It's not a number I like, but I'm here nevertheless."
For his last birthday, Trump oversaw an unprecedented military parade in Washington, marking the 250th anniversary of the US army.
