UFC’s White House bouts to be sanctioned, regulated by ABC, not D.C. commission

UFC’s event at the White House on June 14 will be officially licensed and regulated by the Association of Boxing Commissions rather than the D.C. Combat Sports Commission, an arrangement that allows the UFC to have the fights count without going through local regulators. ABC will serve as an independent third party advising on the card’s regulatory operations, the UFC said in a news release Thursday. The news comes days after D.C. Combat Sports Commission chairman Andrew Huff told The Washington Post the UFC had not yet procured a permit from the D.C. government to hold the bouts. In Thursday’s release, ABC president Timothy Shipman said the UFC is under no obligation to work with a state commission for UFC Freedom 250 since the event, which will be on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, will take place on federal property. The fights will take place on the South Lawn of the White House, marking the first professional sports event held at the location. “UFC is the gold standard for athlete health and safety in combat sports — bar none, and we will absolutely bring those same industry leading standards to this incredible, unique event at the White House,” Marc Ratner, who oversees the UFC’s government and regulatory affairs, said in a statement. The UFC typically works with state commissions for the regulation of its events, and the commissions operate as independent third parties responsible for conducting weigh-ins, supplying judges, referees and medical inspectors, and in-cage physician checks. The commissions also license the athletes and perform pre-fight medical examinations. However, the UFC has said it has self-regulated previous events elsewhere, including Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Macao and Singapore. The ABC is generally considered an umbrella organization that unites individual commissions throughout North America. It exists primarily as a legislative body and is responsible for maintaining and updating the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, which the UFC has adhered to since 2000. Speaking to The Athletic on Wednesday, Huff said he was concerned about the idea of the UFC self-regulating its own event due to fighter safety and the precedent it could set for future events on other parts of federally owned land in D.C. The UFC worked with the D.C. Combat Sports Commission for its previous two Washington events, which were held in 2011 and 2019 at Capital One Arena (previously the Verizon Center). Huff said he first connected with Ratner about the event in November, then sent a follow-up email on Feb. 17 after Huff heard that the commission would not be involved in Freedom 250. “Basically, he just replied that he’s checking on that question and he’ll let me know when he has more information,” Huff said. “We’ve worked with the UFC, PFL, WWE, AEW, New Japan, all the way down to small local promoters that are putting on boxing, professional wrestling, Muay Thai. We’ve really done it all. We’ve seen it all, except this. We haven’t seen this.”