At least one UFC fighter believes that the Trump administration is “desecrating” the federal government’s role by bringing the games to the White House lawn.Professional fighter Bryce Mitchell told reporters Wednesday night that the government should not be involved in hosting sporting events, and that the June 14 UFC match—an “America 250” event coincidentally scheduled on Donald Trump’s birthday—is only opening up the federal government to more corruption.“What I think, personally, is that our government is desecrating its role in society by entertaining sports,” Mitchell said, citing his degree in economics and his love for political science. “Our government is to protect and serve the people, and really should be as minimal as possible.“When you’re doing all of this stuff, hosting sporting events, it’s really outside of the goal of what the government was intended to be because our tax dollars and resources are funding this operation,” Mitchell said.Mitchell is not one of the fighters on the June 14 card. He specified that while he would love to participate—and would be ready and willing to fill in for any absentees—he does not politically believe that the government should be veering into the sporting world.“For the UFC, I think it’s great,” Mitchell said. “Of course they’re going to say yes to it.”The 31-year-old MMA artist noted that while he’s not criticizing the UFC’s participation, emphasizing that he’s “happy” for all the fighters who are getting a moment in the limelight with the major event, “the government should never be hosting sporting events because there’s more room for corruption, and we already have a corrupted government.”“The government is supposed to protect us, not entertain us,” Mitchell emphasized.Bryce Mitchell on Trump's White House UFC fight:Our government is desecrating its role in society by entertaining sports. Our government is to protect and serve the people. Our tax dollars and resources are funding this operation. The government is supposed to protect us, not… pic.twitter.com/Xf6qNdje5k— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) June 4, 2026Trump is a lifelong fan of boxing and MMA, and has apparently used the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary as an excuse to host a fight at the executive mansion. The tournament will be the first UFC event ever hosted at the White House.The main card will pit Justin Gaethje against Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title, and Alex Pereira against Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title. UFC’s parent company, TKO Holdings, has promised that the entire event—which is expected to cost around $60 million—will be funded entirely by the sports organization and come at no cost to taxpayers. Trump has already made a buck off the match: The president reportedly invested up to $50,000 in TKO Group Holdings on March 25, according to his May 12 financial disclosure filing, two weeks after the tournament was formally announced.