{"id":865757,"date":"2026-06-14T02:17:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T02:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/865757\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T02:17:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T02:17:17","slug":"ufc-fans-revel-in-an-unusual-sporting-weekend-in-dc-as-the-octagon-beckons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/865757\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC fans revel in an unusual sporting weekend in DC as the Octagon beckons"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 One by one, the burly mixed martial arts fighters made their entrance past the solemn, hulking marble statue of America\u2019s 16th president and jogged down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to roars from thousands of fans drawn to the unusual sporting weekend<\/a> marking the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> 80th birthday.<\/p>\n

The news conference Friday night featured the fighters who are preparing to face off Sunday in the Octagon<\/a> built outside the White House. But it was also a chance to see the UFC fans who have thronged to Washington and endured lightning, humidity and bugs for the spectacle.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Tracy<\/p>\n

Tracy Philbeck and his son, Levi Philbeck, from Charlotte, N.C., pose for a photo at the Lincoln Memorial, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

Tracy Philbeck and his son, Levi Philbeck, from Charlotte, N.C., pose for a photo at the Lincoln Memorial, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

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Tracy Philbeck and his son Levi drove from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a group of friends to support their favorite fighter, American Justin Gaethje, in the upcoming lightweight title bout against Georgian Ilia Topuria.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will hear an eagle screaming when Justin Gaethje wins,\u201d the elder Philbeck chuckled.<\/p>\n

David Halstead journeyed from Albany, in Western Australia, to watch the sport he has loved for a decade. Halstead said Trump, who regularly attends the fights, \u201cput UFC on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

David Holstead, from Albany, West Australia, poses for a photo at the Lincoln Memorial, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

David Holstead, from Albany, West Australia, poses for a photo at the Lincoln Memorial, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

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The UFC has said it spent $60 million<\/a> on this weekend\u2019s festivities, and Republican president has billed it as \u201cthe greatest show on earth.\u201d <\/p>\n

Not everyone agrees.<\/p>\n

The Public Integrity Project described the event as a \u201cprivate, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain\u201d in a lawsuit<\/a> the watchdog group filed to try to stop it from happening on federal land. A federal judge ruled on Friday<\/a> that the White House was allowed to go ahead.<\/p>\n

Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults consider themselves mixed martial arts fans, according to Ipsos Sports polling conducted in February and March. That polling suggests MMA fans skew male and nonwhite. They are more likely to identify as Republicans than Democrats. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne misconception is that everyone who watches UFC is a Trump supporter, but that\u2019s not the case,\u201d said Ricardo Rodriguez, 24, explaining he loves the physicality of the sport. \u201cPeople also expect a knock out every time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jacob<\/p>\n

Jacob Burvis and Ellie Louizes, from Daytona Beach Fla., pose for a photo at the Lincoln Memorial, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

Jacob Burvis and Ellie Louizes, from Daytona Beach Fla., pose for a photo at the Lincoln Memorial, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

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Ellie Louizes, who practices Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu martial arts, drove from Daytona Beach, Florida, with her boyfriend, Jacob Purvis.<\/p>\n

Female fans of MMA are the minority. But Louizes said she knows a lot of women who get into watching the sport through their male partners. She said \u201cfemale fighters are often way more aggressive\u201d than the men.<\/p>\n

Fans brushed off the criticism about White House as host<\/p>\n

The fans at the Lincoln Memorial brushed off criticism about the bouts being held at the White House. <\/p>\n

Holding fights at the \u201cPeople\u2019s House,\u201d<\/a> Tracy Philbeck said, \u201cgoes back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roosevelt regularly held sparring sessions at the White House, though they were not formal public prizefights. He was an enthusiastic amateur boxer who had boxed at Harvard and continued the sport throughout much of his life.<\/p>\n

Boxing fans also make up a large part of the UFC\u2019s fan base. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Midtown<\/p>\n

Midtown Youth Academy Executive Director Gloria Lee spars with UFC fighter Randy Brown at an event Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

Midtown Youth Academy Executive Director Gloria Lee spars with UFC fighter Randy Brown at an event Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Fatima Hussein)<\/p>\n

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At a UFC-sponsored community event this week at the District of Columbia\u2019s Midtown Youth Academy, the boxing gym\u2019s executive director was helping out with a visit from UFC fighter Randy Brown, who sparred with more than a dozen local teenagers and preteens.<\/p>\n

Gloria Lee said meeting the fighter was a big deal for kids at her gym. \u201cIt\u2019s just been a thrilling week, and I was about to fall out when he came in the door!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Asked about her personal UFC fandom, Lee said she had not watched it much. But by the end of Brown\u2019s visit, she got into the ring with the professional fighter and threw some slugs of her own. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 One by one, the burly mixed martial arts fighters made their entrance past the solemn,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":865758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[4740,46249,352876,12785,84,69,352877,57,352874,21257,352878,53120,1165,21681,80,352879,352875,62,167660,352873,313941,322,67,132,68,93],"class_list":["post-865757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-australia","tag-australia-government","tag-david-halstead","tag-dc-wire","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-ellie-louizes","tag-general-news","tag-gloria-lee","tag-ilia-topuria","tag-jacob-purvis","tag-justin-gaethje","tag-lifestyle","tag-mixed-martial-arts","tag-politics","tag-randy-brown","tag-ricardo-rodriguez","tag-sports","tag-theodore-roosevelt","tag-tracy-philbeck","tag-trump-hub","tag-u-s-republican-party","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-washington-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116746065397122979","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}