Trump gets ringside seat at White House UFC event on his 80th birthday

Trump gets ringside seat at White House UFC event on his 80th birthday

With that last bloody fight and some fireworks, Trump's White House UFC event comes to a close.

The president, his family and Dana White were all smiles as the night seemed to go off without any technical glitches or protest disruptions.

Most of the winners took a moment to thank Trump for putting on the event — though one also used the spotlight to hurl an insult at former first lady Michelle Obama.

The broadcast pulled from moments of U.S. history — like speech excerpts from Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt — as it wove video montages and live music performances between a card of brutal fights. It all came together to give the world a prime-time view of Trump's America.

As the event wraps up, members of the Trump family take to the octagon, including the president, to pose for photos and speak with the champion Gaethje.

American Justin "The Highlight" Gaethje has won the lightweight title, toppling Georgia's previously undefeated Ilia Topuria after four bloody, fast-paced rounds in what Rogan called one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport.

One of Topuria's cornermen stopped the fight after Round 4, as the fighter's face was badly battered.

Topuria had issues with his eyesight after Round 2, but the fight continued after a minute-long pause, despite a doctor seemingly telling him not to go on.

It's now time for the main event: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje.

Trump hosts UFC event on White House lawn

U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated the new Iran ceasefire, his 80th birthday and America’s 250th anniversary by hosting a controversial UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House.

Katie Simpson reports from Washington, D.C., where she spoke to attendees in the fan zone.

Ciryl Gane of France pulled off an upset, taking down Brazil's Alex Pereira with a second-round knockout in the heavyweight interim title bout.

"The people underestimate me," he told Rogan in his post-fight interview.

There's just one more fight to go.

Among those in the stands on the South Lawn is Mark Zuckerberg.

The Meta CEO — who does some MMA himself — became more vocally supportive of Trump during his second term.

Zuckerberg was also among the tech CEOs attending Trump's second inauguration.

Each UFC combatant tonight enters the octagon flanked by two men, one a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the other an emergency responder.

For instance, Canadian fighter Aiemann Zahabi and his opponent Sean O’Malley were escorted by twin firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Marty and Matty Mullen.

Also escorting Zahabi was U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Earl Plumlee, who was cited for "acts of gallantry above and beyond the call of duty" during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2013, according to his citation on the U.S. Medal of Honor Society website.

The Congressional Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award for military valour in action.

The White House pool report has some more details about American Sean O'Malley's fight with Canadian Aiemann Zahabi.

Trump put on a white "USA" hat during the fight. And as in prior matches, the U.S. military attendees loudly chanted, "USA! USA!"

"Canada is the 51st state!" someone shouted. "Don't play with your food, eat!" another encouraged.

The crowd roared when O'Malley took down Zahabi with a knockout punch in Round 2, becoming the first American to defeat a foreign citizen tonight.

Trump applauded and shook O'Malley's hand. In his victory remarks, O'Malley gave a shout out to the thousands of UFC fans in the Ellipse.

The fight card's lone Canadian, Aiemann Zahabi, came out to a chorus of O Canada, followed by another brief bit of Cancon: Drake's Started from the Bottom.

But as the fight against Sean O'Malley started, there were frequent chants of "USA! USA!"