Donald Trump is ‘desecrating society’ instead of helping to ‘protect and serve the people’

UFC star Bryce Mitchell has hit out at the US government over plans to host UFC Freedom 250 at the White House South Lawn on June 14, with Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje headlining the card

Mixed Martial Arts star Bryce Mitchell has criticised UFC Freedom 250, scheduled for the White House’s South Lawn on June 14, claiming the event is “desecrating its role in society.”

During the main card of UFC 326, which saw Max Holloway take on Charles Oliveira, Dana White unveiled the event’s card, named Freedom Fights 250 – The White House. Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje are lined up for the main event, while Alex Pereira versus Ciryl Gane will act as the co-main event.

The UFC White House event has sparked considerable excitement and has been a hot topic since Donald Trump mooted the idea of hosting a one-off card last year. However, the contentious Mitchell is not a fan of the spectacle, given its iconic location.

Mitchell is due to face off against the undefeated Santiago Luna on Saturday at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. But a week later, the White House will host a UFC event on its South Lawn – and Mitchell is far from pleased.

When questioned why he said he didn’t want to be on the White House card, Mitchell responded: “I don’t remember ever saying that. I do want to be on the card. I do.”, reports the Irish Star.

“And this is what I got to say. First off, I ain’t jealous of any of those fighters. I’m so happy for those fighters. I don’t think you could have got a better main event. I’m happy for every single last fighter on that card. If they need me to fill in, if I’m healthy, hey, I’ll do it.

“For the UFC, I think it’s great. It’s beyond great. It’s literally the perfect scenario. But as far as the government… I’m an economics major. I love studying politics on the political side of things, not the UFC’s business.

“That is, of course, they’re going to say yes to it. But what I think personally is that our government is desecrating its role in society by entertaining sports. Our government is to protect and serve the people, and really should be as minimal as possible.

“And when you’re doing all of this stuff, hosting sporting events, it’s really outside of what the goal of the government was intended to be because our tax pounds and resources are funding this operation.”

He added: “Like I said, I’m not criticising the UFC. I love Dana. I love Hunter. I love Sean, Mick. I love all of them. And it’s an amazing thing. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

“But the government should never be hosting sporting events because there’s more room for corruption, and we already have a corrupted government. And so that’s my thoughts on it, is that the government is supposed to protect us, not entertain us.”

UFC Freedom 250 will take place at The White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, 14 June.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.