UFC Freedom 250 live results: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje updates, round-by-round scoring, highlights
According to multiple security experts who spoke to Uncrowned, flying drones represent one of the biggest potential concerns for UFC Freedom 250, just as they are for outdoor matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
According to Vincent Martinez, a retired non-commissioned officer in the U.S. special forces who now works with security firm ZeroEyes, there’s a wide spectrum of drone threats to be considered. They range from “nuisance drones” piloted by overly curious individuals who may intend no real harm, all the way up to more sophisticated weaponized drones that could be used in massive waves as part of a coordinated attack.
“The disruptive drone threat is significant, but I’d put it at the bottom tier of UAS [uncrewed aircraft systems] threats,” Martinez says. “That’s more of an egocentric individual who says, ‘I want to disrupt this. Look at what I did.’ … The much larger concern is drone platforms that have been augmented and fitted with some capability or payload.”
But drones will also be part of the security arsenal for the Secret Service and other agencies, Martinez notes. Some will likely be equipped with facial recognition technology for spotting specific threats, while others could be used to counter any non-approved drones while tracking the signal to find the drone operator.
All these threats are already a prime concern for this year’s World Cup, says Ron Hawkins, senior director of industry relations for the Security Industry Association. But what complicates matters for Sunday’s event, he notes, is the multiple different government agencies who will be coordinating security at both the White House and the UFC watch party for fans at The Ellipse, a 52-acre park located just south of the White House grounds.
Those two events combine the risks associated with high-value targets such as government officials, but also those that come along with large groups.
“That puts it on a level with a Super Bowl or World Cup, maybe even higher,” Hawkins says. “You’re looking at maybe 85,000 or 90,000 people in the vicinity of the White House, with other national leaders.
“You’re controlling access. You’re surveilling and maintaining situational awareness and communicating threats. In today’s technological world, underlying all that is going to be the network, the cyber connections. If cyber can be breached, then physical can be breached. And if physical can be breached, then cyber can be breached.”
Security forces take security measures as preparations continue on the South Lawn of the White House.
(Anadolu via Getty Images)
