DOJ Defends UFC Freedom 250 As Clock Ticks on Effort to Stop Event

The U.S. federal government fired back against a lawsuit aimed at halting the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., arguing that the legal action arrives far too late to be valid.

The Department of Justice, arguing on behalf of the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior, said in a response filing that the original complaint from the Public Integrity Project fails on several fundamental grounds.

The legal battle surrounding UFC Freedom 250 is unfolding as the mixed-martial arts promotion has spent more than $60 million and about a year of planning to develop Sunday’s spectacle on the South Lawn of the White House.

“All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment, however, by the whim of [plaintiffs] who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else,” the Department of Justice wrote in its brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “A more starkly mismatched balance of harms would be difficult to conceive.”

Core Arguments 

The Public Integrity Project, an organization focused on fighting governmental and corporate corruption, originally filed the lawsuit on behalf of two Virginia residents, one a Vietnam War veteran and the other a civic activist. Their core arguments centered on an alleged violation of strict National Park Service regulations, a failure to secure Congressional approval, and the lack of a required environmental review.

The original complaint, however, also centered on aesthetic concerns, and argued that the newly built, 92-foot, and 600-ton claw structure hanging over the South Lawn is “hideous and … grotesque, particularly when juxtaposed with the now-ruined East Wing.” A pre-fight press conference, meanwhile, is set for Friday in front of the Lincoln Memorial. 

In the reply argument, the Department of Justice sought to address each element of that, in part arguing that the use of the public grounds was legally permissible and that the plaintiffs’ claimed aesthetic injuries were wildly overstated.  

“No one is holding plaintiffs in a jiu jitsu lock, forcing them to watch UFC Freedom against their will,” the government wrote. “The public interest does not favor allowing them to exercise a heckler’s veto, particularly at this late date.”

The late timing of the filing of the suit owes in part to the private funding structure of the event— and U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent investment in UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings—not becoming publicly known until recently.

Preliminary events for UFC Freedom 250 are already beginning in Washington, including a planned media day on Wednesday. The parties have asked a judge for a decision by Thursday on the petition to restrain the MMA showcase. 

UFC and TKO Group Holdings are not parties to the lawsuit and have declined to comment.