Ohio visitor Michael Ward pointed to black fencing on the Ellipse and told his son, 'That's for Dana White and his big event with the Octagon.' What they observed was the early stages of a 92-foot-high steel structure called 'the claw,' positioned on the South Lawn for the UFC's Freedom 250 event on June 14.

Built by Belgian company Stageco, the 600-ton, 154-foot-wide apparatus resembles an arcade crane game's picker end. Originally designed for the 2017 Lowlands festival in the Netherlands, this 'beta tent' structure traveled from Europe in 18 shipping containers and required special flights from Germany and Belgium. The staging represents perhaps the most expensive single element of the $60 million budget UFC has allocated for this unprecedented White House card.

Dana White rejected initial renderings that blocked views of the presidential residence. He demanded clear sight lines to the White House and Washington Monument from every camera angle. UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari worked with staging company Tait Global to modify the existing structure, raising it 20 feet and widening it 50 feet while adding 40 tons to each leg for stability.

Fourteen labeled trailers delivered the pieces to Washington on May 22 after Secret Service inspections. President Trump watched workers install lighting from the Truman Balcony as cranes lifted massive steel legs into position. The completed structure will host what many consider the most significant combat sports event in American political history.