D.C.'s hottest ticket: Trump's UFC fight night

• But in a Trumpian twist of marketing, the tickets' elusiveness is building buzz for the event, which will be on the president's birthday, and Flag Day, in the run-up to America's 250th on July Fourth.

The big picture: While Trump deals with a war in Iran and rising gas prices at home, the president seems downright giddy that UFC Freedom 250 gives him a night of pageantry despite the optics.

• There'll be 5,000 VIP seats around the UFC's famed Octagon on the White House South Lawn. But many of those tickets will go to military personnel, leaving perhaps just a couple thousand — and far fewer cage-side — for the well-connected.

Top lobbyists and White House-connected operatives are getting inundated with requests, sources said. One of them told us they're sick of being asked about the fight.

• Republicans began flooding the White House with inquiries about VIP tickets almost immediately after the event was announced last summer.
• One senator asked to attend with their family.
• A GOP fundraiser close to the White House received dozens of direct messages on social media asking how they could get in.
• Trump himself has been fielding ticket requests, a person familiar with the event prep said.

Here's what we know: UFC CEO Dana White announced last week that 85,000 tickets will be given away to the public for an outdoor viewing experience with big video screens on the Ellipse, just south of the White House grounds.

• Six UFC fights will be held at the event, which will be streamed on Paramount+.
• The fight card will be headlined by a lightweight bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.

• White has been meeting with Trump every few months to discuss plans for the event.

Behind the scenes: Organizers say they're still determining how the VIP tickets on the South Lawn will be distributed.

• "It's all very fluid," a Trump aide said.

Between the lines: How the Trump team chooses who gets the prized seats will speak volumes about who has juice in the Trump network.

• Big donors to Trump's ballroom project, his allied super PAC and his inaugural committee almost certainly will get a crack at seats, Republican operatives predict.
• The same goes for Trump's closest Capitol Hill allies and his longtime close friends.

But one person familiar with the planning warned that some of those jockeying for seats are likely to come away disappointed.

The bottom line: Trump loves everything about the looming UFC fight — the drama, the spectacle and the star power it's attracting.

• It "feels like people are willing to brawl to secure a seat!" Rob Lockwood, a former top aide to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, told Axios in a text message.