Lawsuit seeks to stop Trump’s planned White House UFC match

Legal challenge claims US president did not seek proper approval for fighting event to be held on his 80th birthday.A lawsuit is seeking to stop United States President Donald Trump from hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match at the White House.The lawsuit, lodged on behalf of two Virginia residents, is the first known legal challenge to the mixed martial arts event, which is set to be hosted on June 14.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Conor McGregor to fight Max Holloway in UFC return on July 11list 2 of 3Jake Paul vs Chavez Jr: Influencer beats former boxing champ in 10 roundslist 3 of 3Trump says UFC fight at White House to be staged on his 80th birthdayend of listThe event will take place on Trump’s 80th birthday. It is also pegged to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which the US will commemorate on July 4 of this year.The legal challenge filed on Saturday maintained that Trump did not receive proper authorisation to host the fight.It argued that the event violated US National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, that Congress did not consent to the construction of a towering arch overlooking the event space, and that no environmental review was conducted before the construction.“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”In a statement to the Associated Press, the White House dismissed the lawsuit as “obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory”.The White House maintained the UFC fight was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year”.Crews have been erecting an octagon-shaped fighting cage on the South Lawn of the White House, with Trump saying the project will include a “5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House”.