UFC 250 Freedom at the White House promises to be a historic event, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the USA. But surprisingly, almost no UFC fans will be allowed to attend. This was confirmed by the UFC president Dana White.
The live event at the White House will be attended by only 4,300 people, which will mainly include U.S. military personnel and invited guests. Instead, UFC has set up a separate viewing experience for the fans that will accommodate around 85,000 just across the road, in the Ellipse.
This news has got mixed reactions from the fans and the MMA community around the globe.
Dana Explains How Fans Can Watch at the Ellipse
“So there’s going to be 4,300 people there, I just literally went over it right now,” White said in an interview ahead of UFC 327. “4,300 people and most of them will be military.”
Dana White talked about the stadium near the White House where they have set up an amazing viewing experience for the fans.
“Across the street is the Ellipse and for those who don’t know, the Ellipse is a massive park,” White said. “You’ll be able to see the fight from the Ellipse, but we have screens, we’ve got stages, we have music, we have activations over there.”
Why Are Fans Banned from the UFC White House Event?
There are several reasons for fans being banned from this historic UFC event. The major reason is definitely the security concerns that come along with such events.
The historic UFC Freedom event will be attended by many government officials, thus making it a big security problem to manage all of them along with fans.
So, the UFC has made separate arrangements for the fans. The people attending the live event alongside the Octagon will be military personnel. That makes sense considering the theme of the event is the 250th anniversary of America.
Another factor to consider is the Octagon being built near the White House. That place is not used to handle such events. So, having fans and creating an actual UFC experience would have been a big hassle for the company.