Beneath Lincoln's gaze, UFC Freedom 250 became impossible to ignore

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As far as historic moments at the Lincoln Memorial go, Josh Hokit’s attempts to keep “The Hulk” at bay will fall just short of heroic, and it’s doubtful his suggestion that Alex Pereira chews up Ilia Topuria’s food for him carries the same longterm gravity as Martin Luther King’s famous “I Had a Dream” speech. 

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Other than that, nothing was all that demeaning Thursday night in the nation’s capital beyond the UFC’s general presence at the sacred shrine, as the fighters were on their best behavior in the marmoreal world of monuments. These are perhaps small consolations in a week being walked on the ultimate trapeze wire, where the idea — at this point — is for the UFC to escape in one piece.

UFC Freedom 250’s final press conference was postponed by an hour (and change), as the sky turned the color of a week-old bruise. If the President of the United States was cool with the intrusion, Zeus was having his say. There was lightning and squallish fits of rain and holds on the double-decker buses at the JW Marriott that were transporting media to the Memorial. The thousands of fans, standing in front of the reflecting pool and seeing their rippling frames in UFC Freedom 250 gear, were urged to take shelter at one point. 

UFC took over the Lincoln Memorial for Thursday's UFC Freedom 250 pre-fight press conference.Al Drago via Getty Images

Some of them never budged, as the smell of marijuana tickled Lincoln’s nostrils. By now even he knows the official herbal incense of Washington.

Even though he was standing front and center in what was undoubtedly one of the greatest, most surreal moments of his life, a fatigued Dana White turned red at the very mention of Sunday’s weather forecast. There is a slight chance of rain. A slight chance of lightning. A slight chance of Things Beyond His Control, and so, as a mighty figure standing in defiance of such meteorological witchcraft, he made the only declaration he could.

“We are fighting Sunday night on the White House lawn — no matter what!”

Tears. Joy. Jubilance. See, the thing is, these colors don’t run, even when rinsed with rain.

I saw media members, perhaps of dubious credential, Euro-step out of the press holding to record the fan’s reactions behind them on their phones. 

No, it didn’t have the exact same ring, but it kicked up just as many goosebumps as when Barack Obama gave his “We Are One” speech on the same steps some 17 years ago.  

“What gives me that hope is what I see when I look out across this mall,” Obama said. “For in these monuments are chiseled those unlikely stories that affirm our unyielding faith — a faith that anything is possible in America!”

Dana is proof. 

And what Dana said, perhaps more grandiloquently than he imagined, was: “I don’t care if it rains, snows, whatever happens, we have a fight on Sunday, so I’m sick and tired of hearing about the weather now and all the other bulls*** surrounding this event.”

Dana White remains defiant in the face of potentially bad weather for Sunday.Al Drago via Getty Images

In other words, a rain slicker is recommended Sunday, as it can serve to protect against low-velocity blood spatter, too. Because the neat thing about this White House card is that all 14 of the fighters are getting some shine, even if the sun isn’t always cooperating. Even Kyle Daukaus, the most random goodfellow on the docket, got a pop when somebody asked him a question. Don’t be fooled by the Eagles rivalry with the Commanders, Washington’s proximity to Philly is paved with brotherly love.  

Daukaus, just as with all the principals on UFC Freedom 250’s card, has a chance to cash in big come Sunday. As a way of inviting action to the party on the South Lawn, the bonuses will be four times the normal amount this weekend. The best performers will take home $400,000 to $425,000 in cash, which is an enviable amount of kibble for all those fighters left off the card. 

If a fighter wins both a Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonus, his check will read $825,000, which is super close to a cool milly.

I asked Mauricio Ruffy, a believer in divine providence, what it was like to be among these select contestants and he had me peeling back a profound set of bromides like so many bananas.

“I believe that everything can happen,” he said through a translator. “I didn't imagine to fight in the White House and look where I am right now — fighting at the White House against Michael Chandler. So yes, I believe that if I win this fight, I can fight for the title. You have seen that I’m showman. I’m training so hard. I’m focused.”

Chandler, it might be said, looked cool up there on the dais. He had on sunglasses and his hair was perfect. There has been a lot of talk about him being a little long in the tooth, about the last time he won a fight occurring in 2022 against a shot Tony Ferguson, about the UFC feeding him to a young lion in the gladiatorial way. 

I’m not disputing any of it. That’s just what they’re saying. I thought it should be mentioned is all.

It was a beautiful thing to see, though. The lights were perfect. The military band playing to kick off the ceremony conveyed the patriotic feelings this event has been going for. The stage was magnificent, too. Who could’ve imagined seeing UFC fighters standing before those sacred pillars, belonging — after so many years of persecution — to the nation’s fabric in such a way? 

For any of us who’ve been to the smaller shows, the ones held at Foxwoods or in Bangor, Maine just for the hell of it, it was a scene alright. Back in 1939, after being barred from performing at Constitution Hall, Marian Anderson put on a defiant concert on those same steps in dashing furs. American history has been told on those steps, and — I mean, this is why it’s so surreal — there’s the UFC was up there sharing a stage.

Fans attend the press conference for UFC Freedom 250 at the Lincoln Memorial.Anadolu via Getty Images

Even Hokit, who wore a camo floppy hat to the gala, couldn’t ruin the effect. A long time ago, in nearby Georgetown, they called upon Father Marrin to come in an exorcize the demon from the young body of Regan MacNeil, all documented in the movie “The Exorcist.” Perhaps you’ve seen it. The director, the late William Friedkin, was a big fight fan, though his preferences tended toward boxing.

Anyway, I wondered if even Father Merrin could speak to the Hulk that resides in Hokit as he mumbled into the conversation at every turn, talking about masticating food to be transferred from one fighter’s mouth to another. Every time he spoke, Dana looked like he was passing a kidney stone. And every time Dana swatted at a bug in those night lights, I wondered if it might be a locust.

Not that is matters, because these fights are happening on Sunday come hell or high water, and you should’ve seen the fans celebrating what will soon be that historic fact. 

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