Trump calls 2,500-seat UFC White House arena plan 'terrible'

President Donald Trump rejected the UFC's initial proposal for a 2,500-seat arena on the White House South Lawn, calling the capacity "terrible" in footage captured for a new documentary.

A clip from FOX Nation's "Fight House" documentary on UFC Freedom 250 shows Trump standing on the lawn with event producer Craig Borsari, demanding a much larger venue for the June card held on his 80th birthday. "Do 7,000 seats here," Trump said, per MMA Mania. "You could do it. They're gonna build it. There's nothing under here."

Trump's arena vision clashed with initial White House plans

When Borsari floated the 2,500 figure, Trump responded bluntly. "That's terrible. So you're not talking about six or seven thousand?" The president added that his concept was to build the cage "smack right at the White House door" and make it as large as possible, though he acknowledged constraints from trees and landscaping.

Borsari suggested building the structure upward instead of outward to increase capacity while preserving the grounds. The final arena held roughly 4,300 spectators for the card, which the White House billed as a celebration of the American fighting spirit. The first episode of "Fight House" is available now on FOX Nation, with a second installment to follow.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Video captures Donald Trump’s responds to tiny UFC White House arena plans: ‘That’s terrible’