The ambitious UFC White House event will be one of a kind for a variety of reasons — including the natural elements of the outdoor environment in Washington, D.C.
The event — officially known as UFC Freedom 250 — takes place on the South Lawn of the U.S. White House this Sunday night in celebration of America's 250th birthday next month. As there's no usable venue directly around the White House’s Executive Mansion to host a fight, the UFC had to build a makeshift setup outside.
For some fighters competing this weekend, it’ll be their first time fighting outdoors. But not featherweight contender Steve Garcia.
Garcia, who’s set to open the historic event alongside opponent Diego Lopes, shared his previous experiences of fighting outdoors on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," letting his peers know what to expect.
"I've fought outdoors twice. The first one was at night, so I dealt with the bugs and all that," Garcia told Uncrowned. "All the lights in the back had to get shifted forward to the [cage], and we had no light in the back to warm up. So we were blind. Everybody was with their phones, wrapping their hands and hitting pads with the lights from our phones, then we walked to the cage. People didn't think about that. That was one instance. There are bugs and stuff, and it was at night, so it wasn't terrible — maybe 75 degrees.
The event — officially known as UFC Freedom 250 — takes place on the South Lawn of the U.S. White House this Sunday night in celebration of America's 250th birthday next month. As there's no usable venue directly around the White House’s Executive Mansion to host a fight, the UFC had to build a makeshift setup outside.
For some fighters competing this weekend, it’ll be their first time fighting outdoors. But not featherweight contender Steve Garcia.
Garcia, who’s set to open the historic event alongside opponent Diego Lopes, shared his previous experiences of fighting outdoors on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," letting his peers know what to expect.
"I've fought outdoors twice. The first one was at night, so I dealt with the bugs and all that," Garcia told Uncrowned. "All the lights in the back had to get shifted forward to the [cage], and we had no light in the back to warm up. So we were blind. Everybody was with their phones, wrapping their hands and hitting pads with the lights from our phones, then we walked to the cage. People didn't think about that. That was one instance. There are bugs and stuff, and it was at night, so it wasn't terrible — maybe 75 degrees.
6 days ago
