Kid Rock arrives at UFC fight
Kid Rock arrives at UFC fight
0:09
Noteworthy guests who scored VIP tickets to the UFC fight on the South Lawn have begun arriving at the event near the White House.
CNN spotted NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, who played for the Dallas Cowboys; Raiders NFL player Maxx Crosby; Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian; and the owners of the New York Jets and the Washington Commanders. Guests encountered some confusion on which VIP area to enter. The CEO of Kalshi, Tarek Mansour, was walking around trying to find the correct entrance for his ticket.
Comedian Shane Gillis walked past the VIP gate. When asked by CNN how he scored a ticket, he said, “I swear, I don’t know.”
Musician Kid Rock showed up, too, wearing a white ball cap while he signed autographs.
Shane Gillis arrives at UFC fight
Shane Gillis arrives at UFC fight
0:06
Sharon Simmons, the Arkansas woman who delivered DoorDash to the Oval Office for Trump in April, stood near the VIP information tent.
Several members of Congress were seen walking on the streets and beyond the gates, including Sen. David McCormick, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Brandon Gill, Rep. Ronny Jackson and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.
Some were dropped off in SUVs and walked out toward the gates, including Paula White-Cain, senior adviser for the White House faith office.
People took pictures with influencer Nick Shirley outside the VIP information tent. The administration credits him with uncovering fraud in Minnesota.
David Warrington, White House counsel, went up to UFC VIP staff at an entrance where attendees were required to have wristbands for a pre-fight party.
“I’m the White House counsel; I’d presume I’d get in through VIP,” he said, but was directed elsewhere.
Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Harris Faulkner were also spotted.
Later, as the fights were underway, a New York Times reporter posted photos of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, a fan of mixed martial arts fighting, sitting in the front row beneath the Claw. Nearby, stood David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, whose $111 billion purchase of Warner Brothers Discovery, parent company of CNN, was recently approved by the Justice Department.
This post has been updated with additional information.
