{"id":1702,"date":"2026-06-11T06:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702"},"modified":"2026-06-11T06:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:36:22","slug":"ufc-fighters-say-theyre-honored-to-compete-in-front-of-president-trump-on-card-at-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702","title":{"rendered":"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>UFC fighter Josh Hokit was decked out in an American flag bandana and American eagle gloves as he unleashed vigorous trash talk ahead of the company\u2019s White House debut.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1700\">Happy Fidelity Month! Red states, feds promote June rebrandings in rebuff to Pride<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sean O\u2019Malley earned American-style points for dressing in red \u2014 his hair and suit \u2014 and blue \u2014 dress shirt, tie and, well, hair again \u2014 and Michael Chandler visualized accessorizing his fight night walk-out before he dished out a patriotic pounding draped in an American flag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me to walk from the White House to the octagon to represent America, to represent myself, to represent just who I am and what this country means to me,\u201d Chandler said, \u201cit\u2019s just a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The usual foul-mouthed fight hype from UFC\u2019s American fighters ahead of their prime-time debut Sunday on the White House grounds largely yielded to bursts of national pride Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div>\n<section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>O\u2019Malley, known as much for his cornucopia of colors that turn his locks into rainbows or cotton candy tops as his fight skills, tried to downplay the week and called it business as usual. In the next breath, O\u2019Malley confessed that fighting on a UFC card on the South Lawn was indeed \u201cepic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hokit, meanwhile, wasn\u2019t about to modify his style on the microphone just because he would fight in the mixed martial arts show timed to coincide with President Trump\u2019s 80th birthday and the celebration of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll never see me apologize for anything I do,\u201d Hokit said.<\/p>\n<p>Well, the heavyweight is in the right city for that declaration. He was one of several fighters who added a dash of brashness and boldness in the nation\u2019s capital just four days before the surreal juxtaposition of pummeling and patriotism set for Mr. Trump and UFC boss Dana White\u2019s big-fight vision of UFC Freedom 250.<\/p>\n<p>Forget the Washington Monument. The claw, the temporary arena structure that houses the eight-sided cage, is the buzziest landmark this week in the District.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Weather is a slight concern for fight night<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>Umbrellas were a necessary accessory around Washington early Wednesday and the threat of heavier rain later in the week, which could dampen both a scheduled press conference at the Lincoln Memorial as well as fight night, was the only true concern ahead of the fight card.<\/p>\n<p>White, who helped launch UFC into a global sports empire, insisted inclement weather will not keep the spectacle from proceeding as scheduled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to be good on Sunday,\u201d White said this week. \u201cI don\u2019t care if it snows, rains, we\u2019re going. Even lightning. You guys all played sports when you were growing up. Whenever there was lightning, you\u2019d sit the lightning out. When it was over, you played. That\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Two titles at stake on the South Lawn<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While the South Lawn setting normally reserved for low-contact events like the annual Easter Egg Roll is the real star of the show, there are two championship fights set for the Paramount+ show.<\/p>\n<p>In a card that has been panned by fans online as underwhelming, Brazil\u2019s Alex Pereira will meet France\u2019s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC\u2019s 11 championship belts.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1699\">Maine Democrats pick toxic waste dump Platner<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Middleweight Bo Nickal was a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Penn State who was awed when he met Trump in 2019 at the White House during a ceremony for collegiate national champions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president said hello to all the teams,\u201d Nickal said Wednesday. \u201cWhen he got to us, he was all excited because he likes wrestlers. He talked to us for maybe 10, 15 minutes because he likes chatting.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>Nickal is set to fight on the main card Sunday against Philadelphia fighter Kyle Daukaus. Nickal called fighting on the show a \u201cmassive opportunity,\u201d and one he may have manifested back in that 2019 meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him at that time in 2019 that I was going to fight at UFC,\u201d Nickal said. \u201cHe asked if I needed an agent. He\u2019s put in a good word for me, obviously, getting on this card.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bulk of UFC\u2019s roster seemingly threw their names on the ballot and hoped to get the call they would fight in front of the president.<\/p>\n<p>Chandler, the 40-year-old Missouri native, laughed when he said he would feel \u201cas high as kite in the best way possible\u201d on his way to the cage. He was thrilled when he earned a lightweight bout against Mauricio Ruffy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if you\u2019re not watching, you\u2019ve heard about this card, whether you like to admit it or not,\u201d Chandler said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>White not fazed by federal lawsuit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not everyone is on board with fighters commandeering the same South Lawn where Dwight D. Eisenhower once put in a putting green.<\/p>\n<p>A federal lawsuit filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration\u2019s authorization of the event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.<\/p>\n<p>White, a long-time friend and former business associate of Mr. Trump\u2019s from the days when Boardwalk cards at Trump Taj Mahal lifted UFC into relevancy, brushed off the idea the lawsuit could halt the fight card.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were expecting a lawsuit,\u201d White said. \u201cWe expected everything coming into this event. We thought it would be sooner. We knew it was going to come. We didn\u2019t know who or how, but we knew it was going to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1697\">Iran war tests America\u2019s \u2018strong horse\u2019 status in Arab world<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit was decked out in an American flag bandana and American eagle gloves as he delivered vigorous trash talk ahead of the company&#8217;s White House debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[1096,1190],"class_list":["post-1702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-dana-white","tag-josh-hokit"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit was decked out in an American flag bandana and American eagle gloves as he delivered vigorous trash talk ahead of the company&#039;s White House debut.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T06:36:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T06:36:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702\"},\"wordCount\":1016,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Dana White\",\"Josh Hokit\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702\",\"name\":\"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House - Home Buyer Relocation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T06:36:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=1702#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Buyer Relocation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House - Home Buyer Relocation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House - Home Buyer Relocation","og_description":"UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit was decked out in an American flag bandana and American eagle gloves as he delivered vigorous trash talk ahead of the company's White House debut.","og_url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702","og_site_name":"Home Buyer Relocation","article_published_time":"2026-06-11T06:36:22+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"headline":"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House","datePublished":"2026-06-11T06:36:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702"},"wordCount":1016,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg","keywords":["Dana White","Josh Hokit"],"articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702","name":"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House - Home Buyer Relocation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-11T06:36:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/815ce55935dc89c1726576db4f6e9165.jpg","width":1200,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1702#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UFC fighters say they\u2019re honored to compete in front of President Trump on card at the White House"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/","name":"Home Buyer Relocation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}