‘F***ing wild’: Inside $60m White House UFC spectacle… aka, the craziest party America ever had

So Donald Trump, as birthday boy, is walking down into his backyard to host seven fistfights.

While alongside him, great mate Dana White not only keeps pace through the White House rose garden, then down the steps, but smiles exactly like you’d expect a Boston bellhop done good.

Yep, finally it’s on.

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After almost a year of planning, controversy and hype – and then one final hour-long delay for thunderstorms that never came — the UFC has finally arrived on the White House lawn.

Or more specifically, exploding in the type of Americana that’s as wonderfully obvious as that giant ‘USA’ writ large on the president’s white cap.

That, and real life American Psycho Justin Gaethje backflipping off the top of the cage.

And after winning the UFC lightweight title as an almost $6 underdog.

Then with less subtlety, you have US heavyweight Josh Hokit – who not only arrives to the cage via Hulk Hogan’s Real American walkout, or wearing an American flag bandana, but while being joined, at least in part of his journey, by a war veteran in a wheelchair.

Then afterwards, thanking Trump for “having the balls to put s*** like this on”.

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Of course, you may have heard, Hokit had an offensive dig at former First Lady Michelle Obama, too.

But, hey, no party is perfect.

Just as a night like this isn’t for everyone.

But honestly, what is?

What we can tell you however is that as far as backyard parties go … well, there are 4000 people inside this heaving outdoor venue – think troops, politicians, celebrities, boxers, and singers – who reckon this one is a belter.

After initially being delayed for over an hour due to forecast thunderstorms – which, thankfully, never arrived — the UFC’s wildest ever initially burst open in an explosion of US colour guards, aircraft flyovers, Zac Brown anthem’s, shout outs to the troops, U-S-A chants, and the President’s band belting out Thunderstruck.

All of which was exactly as promised.

Understanding hours earlier, as Fox Sports Australia waited inside the White House press briefing room to gain entry to the venue, we overhead a White House staffer outing much of this to a colleague who obviously boasts less access on their badge.

“Wait until you see it, bro,” our man oozed. “Trump and Dana walking down those steps, the flyover, the fireworks at the end … it’s f***ing wild, man … absolutely f***ing wild”.

And as we write this only minutes sometime between fights four and five … well, it is f***ing wild, man.

Take, say, with The Claw, which dazzles overhead.

Already painted up in a Star Spangled mass of steel, the four-pronged goliath – think something lifted straight from War of the Worlds – has now also been illuminated in red, white and blue.

From seemingly all angles too, lights shine into the air, onto the Octagon, everywhere.

At one end of this $60 million venue, The White House is bathed in a soft, yellow glow.

And at the other, it’s the Washington Monument treated the same.

Earlier this week, during a sneak peak inside the venue for select media, a New York Times scribe had asked Matty Johns if, maybe, an international visitor found the whole thing a tad, err, tacky?

Johns though, said he was just here for the party.

Same deal, the entire crowd this night, who simply wanted to party.

Which, remember, is what this is.

Not only for a president turning 80, or a country turning 250, but for fans who love nothing more than a good ‘ol fashioned stink.

Which again, is a certain type of party.

Undoubtedly too, a certain type of Americana.

But geez, good luck finding anyone who wouldn’t want a backyard bash with at least all the fun of this one.

A night where everywhere you look, wonderful chaos.

A truth proved no more than in the main event.

Where Justin Gaethje, as a whopping title outsider, went and finished champion Ilia Topuria during a fight where he got dropped, rallied, dropped Topuria, put him in chokes, escaped them himself, and painted the former champ’s face claret.

And as he went, the crowd chanted U-S-A.

Then increasingly, it was Gaethje … Gaethje … Gaethje …

Which had everyone in raptures but a Spanish journo to my right, whose head collapsed onto his keyboard when the fight was waved off.

‘Merica, baby.

And, sure, initially, we wondered if, maybe, we were simply a little excited after having had to arrive so early for security screenings, it would be five hours from the time we arrived inside The White House grounds to finding our seats.

But the longer the night went, and the more the knockouts built up, the better it got.

Take when the opening two fights are in the bag and, incredibly, English boxing megastar Tyson Fury walks down those White House steps and into the venue.

“Why?” an perplexed American journalist next to me asks.

But really, why not?

Like Alex Pereira firing his mock arrow from The White House balcony, and while pyrotechnics spewed off The Claw.

Chama.

Of course, you likely know now, it was French rival Ciryl Gane who only minutes later provided fireworks of his own.

With his furious, big punching finish capturing the attention of everyone but those US secret service agents who situated around the venue — including a couple right above us on the top tier — only had eyes for the opposite direction.

Elsewhere, and between fights, the crowd will stand and thank members of the US Army, the Navy, the Airforce, Space Force, the Coast Guard, dance to Sweet Home Alabama, then Smoke on the Water … and, of course, YMCA.

Know too that despite being outdoors, and seating 4000, the venue feels incredibly intimate.

A joint so small that when President Trump first takes his seat for the fights, with White alongside him, you can hear clearly one of the fans shout “Happy Birthday”.

And just on that, there have likely been few 80th birthdays like this one.

With Trump up close when Diego Lopes brutally finishes Steve Garcia in only the second round of the opening bout, and then American favourite Bo Nickal does the same to Kyle Daukaus in the second.

In the build to this night, there were serious concerns about the fighters being plagued by humidity, gnats, heat and those thunderstorm forecasts so serious, overnight White held emergency contingency meetings.

Yet as we write this in the minutes after Hokit finishes loses, there has been no issue except for the one bug that landed briefly on our notepad.

Rain?

It never came, either.

Yet a marriage proposal did.

With hyped Brazilian lightweight Mauricio Ruffy walking out with Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski in his corner, beating up America’s Michael Chandler in a round, quoting bible verses, urging fans’ find Christ … then proposing to his missus.

Wonderfully, she said yes.

Same as there was also another flyover around 11.30pm.

And shortly after Suga Sean O’Malley, against Aiemann Zahabi, earned what may likely be the first ever walk off KO with military salute.

When given the mic afterwards, Suga also shouted out all those thousands if fans gathered next door, watching on giant screens inside The Ellipse. And then, White for being a gangsta.

Given the first three fights finished within four rounds, and the first four within five rounds, the night moved as quickly as it did brutally.

Yet with each finish, the joint rocked.

Of course, with so many dignitaries present, there were some concerns about how it would feel inside the venue, and if so many who hadn’t paid for seats would ensure a big fight feel was still in the air?

Truly, people shouldn’t have worried.

With the addition of several thousand servicemen and women proving not only a wonderfully American addition, but the type of raucous, educated support that made this feel every bit like a regular UFC event.

Just one held in a backyard.

Elsewhere in the build, it was revealed that selected troops had been required to first meet a range of height and weight requirements, which definitely proved true when those sculpted fatigues stood among us.

Thankfully, the same wasn’t applied to press row.

We would’ve hated to miss this party.