UFC White House card will be 'frozen' for 30 minutes no matter what if one thing happens

The UFC White House card will be frozen for a 30 minute period if disaster strikes during the historic event, it has been claimed.

On President Donald Trump's 80th birthday, UFC Freedom 250 takes place on the South Lawn of the White House and is headlined by Ilia Topuria's lightweight title defence against Justin Gaethje.

The stacked seven-fight card also sees Alex Pereira look to make history by become a three-weight world champion when he locks horns with Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight strap.

The limited-capacity attendance includes members of the military, as well as those invited by Trump, UFC chief Dana White and the TKO Group.

There is also a free large-screening experience nearby at The Ellipse for the show, which celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States.

A design structure called the 'The Claw' has been installed over the Octagon, with the White House visible in the background.

UFC White House card in full:

• Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje
• Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane
• Sean O'Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi
• Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler
• Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus
• Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia
• Derrick Lewis vs Josh Hokit

But as impressive as the open-air set-up looks, there are fears the event could be thrown into chaos.

The Weather Channel says there is a "60% chance of thunderstorms, heavy downpours, and wind gusts up to 34 mph threatening to delay the outdoor fights".

The channel branded the weather setup as "chaotic" and brought up the likely humidity in Washington, D.C, which could bring a swarm of mosquitos and gnats.

Throughout the build-up, a determined White has claimed nothing will stop the event from going ahead as planned and there will be replacement canvases on hand should there be heavy rainfall.

READ MORE: UFC White House card at risk of major delays as tornadoes and thunderstorms forecast

But writing on X, the channel said that lighting will bring a halt to proceedings and force a delay as "a single lightning strike within eight miles will trigger an automatic 30-minute freeze on the entire event".

What happens if UFC White House card is delayed?

Because of the predicted adverse weather conditions, the UFC's chief content officer Craig Borsari may well have his work cut out.

Borsari, a lead producer on the White House event, has admitted that there are "people that will get wet" and that "the rain will start to creep inside that 100-foot diameter" if there is precipitation.

The card starts in the early hours of Monday morning in the United Kingdom, with a local time of 8pm.

Borsari and his team will have to react accordingly but he has promised that the UFC broadcast will remain on its streaming partners if the worst case scenario happens.

He stated: “So we have a few options. One is to stay on air, and we do have contingency planning where we can remain and continue to broadcast from a location close by the South Lawn, and if we feel like a weather pattern’s coming in that will pass through, and we can resume, we will.

"We would not leave the broadcast, we would just fill and report from site. It’s a bit of an evaluation, so when we’re going through that we’ll be talking regularly to a meteorologist, who is right now on site giving us updates.

“We’ll figure out what does this window look like? Do we have the ability to resume, or what is the extent of the weather front that’s coming through?”