Weight Standard Introduced For Troops To Earn UFC White House Ticket

It is being reported that while some U.S. military troops will earn free tickets to the UFC White House event this summer, only those that meet a certain body composition standard will be welcome.

The White House card, also known as UFC Freedom 250, is set to take place on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C. on June 14th. The headlining bout will feature a lightweight title unification match between Ilia Topuria and interim belt holder Justin Gaethje. In the co-main event, former two-division champion Alex Pereira will square off with Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title.

It has not been announced how many military service tickets will be given out, but it has been revealed that rank will play a factor in selection, and selected individuals will need to pay their own airfare to the event.

According to the guidance memo sent out regarding event attendance, military service members will need to meet the following requirements:

“Ticket recipients are required to meet the DOW waist-to-height ratio standard of less than 0.55, as well as all service specific physical fitness test requirements,”

(h/t CNN.com)

The details in the memo match a theme that started being pushed last year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has particular vision for the military that does not include overweight service members. In a highly publicized address to military officials in 2025, Hegseth did his best to make his vision clear.

“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”