The White House South Lawn is being transformed into a UFC fight venue ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned June 14 mixed-martial-arts event, a spectacle tied to celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary.

New renderings released this week by the Ultimate Fighting Championship show an octagonal cage surrounded by patriotic staging and arena seating on White House grounds. Construction crews have already begun assembling the venue.

The event is scheduled for Trump’s 80th birthday and is expected to draw more than 4,000 attendees inside the temporary arena.

Officials also plan to host a “Freedom 250 Fan Fest” on the Ellipse nearby, where tens of thousands could watch the fights on large screens.

Trump promoted the event during remarks last week, claiming demand for tickets had surged.

“I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets,” Trump said. “It’s a one of a kind UFC”

The fight card represents another public display of Trump’s close relationship with UFC president Dana White, a longtime political ally who endorsed Trump during multiple presidential campaigns and spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

In an interview with The New Yorker, White said the idea originated during a conversation with Trump at a UFC event.

“We should do a fight at the White House,” White recalled Trump saying.

“And he’s like, ‘I think it would be great to have an event for America’s 250th,’” White told the magazine. “And so literally, that was a Saturday. On Monday, the White House started calling, saying, ‘Let’s start getting the logistics.’”

White also detailed how tickets would be distributed. According to the UFC executive, Trump plans to distribute 1,000 tickets personally, while White and TKO Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel will each receive several hundred more. The remaining seats are expected to go largely to members of the military.

The White House has framed the event as part of a broader patriotic celebration leading up to the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary next year. Trump is also planning a temporary IndyCar street race through Washington later this summer that would pass landmarks including the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle defended the UFC event in a statement to reporters.

“It will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary,” Ingle said.

Trump’s relationship with UFC stretches back more than two decades. Before entering politics, Trump hosted early UFC fights at his Atlantic City properties while the sport struggled for mainstream acceptance.

At the time, the late Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) sharply criticized mixed martial arts and famously described it as “human cockfighting,” a label that followed the sport for years before its eventual commercial success.

Today, UFC is one of the most profitable combat sports brands in the world, and Trump frequently appears cageside at major events, often receiving loud ovations from crowds.

Officials have said fighter weigh-ins are expected to take place at the Lincoln Memorial during the days leading up to the White House event.