White House to host cage fight: UFC boss

Washington: The White House is to play host to a mixed martial arts bout on July 4 next year, the day the United States marks the 250th anniversary of...

Washington: The White House is to play host to a mixed martial arts bout on July 4 next year, the day the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, UFC boss Dana White said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump has been a regular guest at the often-bloody contests, where fighters punch, kick and grapple with their opponent in a no-holds-barred battle to submission or knockout.

Bringing the brutal combat sport to the center of US political power will mark a historic first.

"It is definitely going to happen," White, a high-profile supporter of the US president, told CBS television.

"I talked to him last night -- 'him' being the president -- and I'm flying out there at the end of this month, and I'm going to sit down and walk him through all the plans and the renderings, and we're going to start deciding what he wants and doesn't want."