UFC celebrates 250th anniversary of Declaration of Independence at White House event

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Strange things are afoot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, giving rise to an obvious question: how did we get here? Rising from the South Lawn of the White House is a 92ft-tall skeletal structure known as “the Claw”. Beneath it sits an octagonal cage surrounded by sponsor logos, temporary grandstands and thousands of seats for a mixed martial arts card on Sunday night to celebrate Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand. The event has prompted comparisons to Idiocracy, Mike Judge’s satire of a future US where politics, entertainment and corporate branding become indistinguishable. Others have gone further, dismissing it as a “kleptocratic spectacle”. Continue reading...

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The beginning of Dana White and the UFC’s road to the White House can be traced back 25 years to when a fringe mixed martial arts promotion — at the time still unable to shake the “human cockfighting” label applied to the sport years earlier by a U.S. senator — ran a modest event called “Battle on the Boardwalk.” Making his first appearance as UFC president, White was asked about his goals for the fledging promotion. Sporting close-cropped hair, thinner, dressed in a suit, and using restraint in his words, White still offered a sneak peek of his future bombastic plans.