Country music star Zac Brown defended his decision to perform at the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.
“Man, I’m there for the troops, man. I’m there to honor America,” Brown, 47, insisted on the Wednesday, June 10, edition of The Pat McAfee Show. “This is patriotism, not politics for me.”
The “Thank You for Loving Her” singer is slated to perform the national anthem for the first time at a UFC event since September 2001.
The seven-match card will be held in a specially-constructed fight arena on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14 as part of President Donald Trump and his administration’s 250th anniversary celebrations for the U.S.
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Trump, 79, is expected to attend UFC Freedom 250, which will be headlined by a lightweight championship bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
UFC Freedom 250 has been tremendously controversial, with Trump’s opponents criticizing the appropriateness of staging an MMA fight at the White House.
For his part, Brown — who is also expected to headline a fan fest during Freedom 250 weekend — insisted that his sole focus is honoring the “8,000 active service members” expected to attend.
“I mean, f*** all the division. I don’t believe in that,” Brown told host Pat McAfee. “I love this country. I love all the people that have sacrificed so that I can live my American dream and that everyone that lives here gets a chance to do that if they work hard and make the right decisions. So it doesn’t have a place in politics for me.”
Brown said that he’s excited for the event on a personal level too as he’s a “massive UFC fan” who has watched “every single UFC [event] probably multiple times.”
“It’s my favorite sport,” he added. “I’m honored that [UFC CEO Dana White] is giving me the chance to do this … Getting to do the anthem for this, with the Marine Band, is going to be sick. We’ve been working up some arrangements with them. It’s an honor, man.”
The musician concluded, “I’m so excited for this weekend. And it’s history, man, getting to be part of American history, man. Having the first sporting event that’s on the lawn of the White House. I mean, it’s an honor.”
Ahead of the event, Trump has hinted that an MMA arena on the South Lawn of the White House could become a permanent fixture.
“Many don’t know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower — 1889 it was built — was supposed to be taken down immediately after the World’s Fair,” Trump said in a TikTok video on June 2. “And then they said, ‘You know, we sort of like it, let’s leave it up a little bit longer.’”
He then teased, “We’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people. It’s going to have a big UFC fight on June 14, and I’m looking at it, and maybe we’ll never ever take it down.”
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The UFC event is one element of the Trump administration’s plans to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. A series of concerts were due to be held under the “Freedom 250” banner before headliners Martina McBride, Bret Michaels and more all backed out over questions about whether the shows were truly nonpartisan.
Trump later suggested cancelling the concerts outright, instead scheduling a MAGA rally in Washington, D.C on June 24, featuring music from Lee Greenwood and Christopher Macchio.
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