Public Integrity Project has failed in their bid to block UFC Freedom 250.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the bid for a temporary restraining order stating in his ruling: “The Plaintiffs fall short of showing they are ‘directly affected’ by Defendants’ actions…Because Plaintiffs fail to establish both a substantial likelihood of standing and irreparable harm, and because the equities and public interest weigh against emergency relief, Plaintiffs’ Emergency Application… is denied.”
Mehta wrote that the massive, 92-foot-tall temporary staging structure on the South Lawn (called “the Claw”) and pre-fight events at the Lincoln Memorial did not cause them “aesthetic and dignitary harms”.
In Mehta’s ruling he stated that the defendants took too long to file their protest and that the structures built to put on the show are temporary.
Judge Mehta noted: “The public knew about the event since July 2025, and construction began on May 26, 2026, yet the plaintiffs waited until June 6 to file a lawsuit…The Claw will be disassembled beginning at 10:00 a.m. on June 15, 2026 and any staging equipment at the Lincoln Memorial must be removed before then.”
Mehta explained that the court would not halt a $60 million event involving a year of government planning and thousands of attendees based on the “ancillary and temporary” complaints of a group who could not prove they would be directly and uniquely harmed.
UFC Freedom 250 is set to take place this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and is available to watch on Paramount+.
