Dana White saw this coming from a mile away. And now, the 56-year-old has shared his thoughts about the federal lawsuit filed on Saturday by the Public Integrity Project, a watchdog group, in order to stop the UFC Freedom 250 card from unfolding. The watchdog group also filed an injunction on Sunday for the same reason, but none of it appears to shock White.

“We were expecting a lawsuit,” Dana White told reporters Tuesday in Washington. “We expected everything coming into this event. We thought it would be sooner. We knew it was going to come. We didn’t know who or how, but we knew it was coming.”

The UFC CEO refused to comment further about the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of two plaintiffs: Susan Douglas, an activist, and Paul Romano, a Vietnam War veteran. It names the National Park Service and members of its leadership, and the Interior Department and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum as the defendants in the suit.

The group argues that the administration violated multiple federal laws to facilitate what it describes as a “deeply corrupt” private commercial sporting event that has been packaged as a patriotic celebration. The lawsuit centers on a National Park Service rule that allows the agency to bypass normal permits for events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. 

However, the law applies only to events that are planned, organized, and executed by the federal government. The lawsuit argues that UFC Freedom 250 fails to meet that standard. Notably, the event is completely organized by the UFC and TKO with only partial support from the federal government. As a result, the filing characterizes the card as a celebration of the UFC brand and President Trump’s 80th birthday.

Interestingly, the Trump administration has been sued numerous times in its second term. Within just the first few months of taking office, over 120 lawsuits were filed against his administration. Meanwhile, the UFC and its parent company have faced their own share of lawsuits, with the 2014 antitrust lawsuit being the major suit.

Since the suit, a White House official dismissed the lawsuit, claiming it’s an “obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory lawsuit” brought forth only to prevent Donald Trump from hosting the event. 

The lawsuit likely won’t stop the event from happening, and the court might not readily grant the injunction, even though the idea stemmed from Donald Trump.

In the meantime, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has also responded to the lawsuit. 

DOJ slams lawsuit aimed to stop UFC Freedom 250

According to a report from the Washington Examiner, the DOJ has urged a federal judge to reject the last-minute lawsuit. They argue that the lawsuit has come way too late and will cause severe disruption. In a filing submitted Tuesday, DOJ attorneys emphasized that the event was announced nearly a year ago, with dates confirmed months in advance and preparations visible for weeks.

The department argued that organizers, attendees, and fighters have already invested substantial time and resources into the event. The filing highlighted the millions of dollars spent, extensive labor involved, and months of training undertaken by the 14 fighters scheduled to compete.

 “It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend,” the filing stated.

The department added that the plaintiffs were attempting to “impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country” and “ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America.”

Having said that, it appears the event is likely to move forward despite the lawsuit. However, it would be interesting to see what happens to the lawsuit.