President Donald Trump’s bizarre White House UFC birthday spectacle just got even stranger, with selected guests reportedly being offered $1.5 million VIP packages.
Mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani revealed that wealthy “high rollers” are being pitched premium access to the administration’s upcoming “UFC Freedom 250” event, with a seven-figure price tag.
“It’s a deck being sent out to a lot of influential people, high rollers,” Helwani said on his podcast.
His co-host Conner Burks openly mocked the cost, and argued that the real product being sold was access to Trump’s inner orbit.
“$1.5 million is ridiculous for that,” Burks said.
“That’s like a $1.45 million seat to the White House… all that other stuff is at most $50,000.”
According to Helwani, the package also includes floor tickets to UFC 329 later this year, where Conor McGregor is rumored to be making a long-awaited comeback.
The increasingly weird event is scheduled for June 14—ostensibly as part of celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday. June 14 also happens to be Trump’s 80th birthday.
The president has repeatedly hyped the spectacle as “the greatest show on Earth,” and welcomed a group of UFC fighters into the Oval Office on Wednesday, where he showed off plans for the event.
“I’m a big sports fan. There are no people tougher in sports than the people behind me. These are the toughest. I know them all,” Trump said.
“Our country is invited to this. It’s free.”
But while Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the event will be “free” for the public, the newly revealed VIP packages suggest a parallel experience is being quietly marketed to wealthy insiders.
UFC president Dana White said 4,300 spectators—mostly members of the military—will watch the fights from the White House South Lawn, while another 85,000 free tickets will be distributed for public viewing at nearby Ellipse Park.
“The taxpayers aren’t paying anything,” White said in a recent interview on CBS Mornings.
“We’re (paying) the bill for this whole fight. And I can’t sell a hot dog, a T-shirt or a ticket. Nothing can be sold on federal land.”
The premium packages appear to sidestep those restrictions by selling exclusive access and event perks rather than tickets.
It remains unclear how many of the seven-figure packages are available, who is eligible to buy them, or exactly where the money will go.
Helwani claimed on his podcast that proceeds would likely be split between Trump, the UFC, and the military.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for clarification.
