Trump's UFC fight faces a tough opponent: D.C. heat, humidity and bugs
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Claw on the White House South Lawn — built for spectacle. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Before fists fly for President Trump's UFC fight, swarms of winged insects are likely headed for the White House South Lawn.
Why it matters: The unprecedented cage match faces a formidable opponent: the D.C. swamp — buggy, muggy and potentially stormy, with Mother Nature emerging as the night's biggest wild card.
Catch up quick: UFC president Dana White recently told the Hollywood Reporter he sees three major threats to the outdoor spectacle: "rain, lightning and a ton of bugs."
- White said he encountered a "holy s**t" level of gnats during a visit to the renovated Rose Garden earlier this year.
- Critics — including podcaster Joe Rogan — have questioned whether staging a UFC card outdoors creates unnecessary risks for fighters.
Zoom in: The event's centerpiece is the massive illuminated "Claw" structure on the South Lawn.
- The lighting structure is designed to showcase the White House, not obscure it.
- "All I want to see during this fight is the White House, the full White House," White told THR. "I don't want to see a light, a microphone, any type of rigging."
Threat level: Muggy with a chance of mosquitoes.
- Capital Weather is forecasting temperatures in the mid-90s this weekend, with the possibility of late-day thunderstorms that could affect an 8pm main card.
- As for insects? University of Maryland entomologist Michael Raupp puts the odds at 100%.
- "This event is going to draw a big crowd," Raupp tells Axios. "But guess what? There are going to be even more bugs joining."
The winged card, according to Raupp:
- Thousands of tiny midges.
- Mayflies emerging from the Potomac.
- Stoneflies, caddisflies and winged beetles.
- "A whole cadre of night-flying moths."
And then there are D.C. regulars:
- Mosquitoes, more attracted to "sweaty human beings" than lights.
- Possibly biting black flies.
- Definitely bats.
"If you have this banquet of small flying insects," Raupp says, "the bats are going to say, 'Oh, baby!'"
Reality check: Washington hosts brightly lit outdoor events all the time.
- Nats Park routinely attracts millions of insects under its lights.
- While the Claw's lighting may sit closer to the action, Raupp says, he doesn't expect bugs to become "a major concern."
Weather may be the bigger challenge.
- White told reporters that the show will go on — snow, rain, "even lightning" (realistically, they'll pause for lightning). A small canopy will help shelter the fighters.
The bottom line: The White House UFC card may be one of the biggest stages in mixed martial arts history. The fighters seem unfazed by either the forecast or the bugs.
- "I like my chances with a bug in my eye better than my opponent," fighter Michael Chandler told reporters. "I like my chances in 100-degree swampy heat better than my opponent — and that's all that matters."