Court OKs this weekend's UFC event at White House

This weekend's UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House will proceed as planned after a federal judge denied a legal challenge to the festivities on Friday.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., denied an emergency injunction application filed last weekend by the Public Integrity Project, which argued that the Trump administration had unlawfully organized a private sporting event on public property in violation of National Park Service rules.

Mehta's ruling said the plaintiffs failed to establish that they would suffer any irreparable harm or aesthetic injury if the defendants -- the Department of Interior and National Park Service -- allowed the UFC fights to happen.

Mehta noted that the UFC event had been public knowledge for nearly a year, but the plaintiffs did not file "until June 7, 2026 -- more than two weeks after visible preparations commenced at the White House -- to seek emergency relief." The late filing "undercuts their claims of irreparable harm," the judge wrote.

Mehta said the large claw-shaped stadium set up on the South Lawn is a temporary structure and "the risk of any significant environmental damage is doubtful."

The weekend's schedule includes a press conference Friday at the Lincoln Memorial, weigh-ins on Saturday at The Ellipse, and the fight card on the South Lawn on Sunday, which is also President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.

The card is headlined by lightweight champion Ilia Topuria taking on interim champion Justin Gaethje in a belt unification fight. An interim heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira is billed as the co-main event.

--Field Level Media