Fighters participating in the Ultimate Fighting Championship matches on the White House grounds later this month aren’t the only ones who need to make weight.
Service members attending the event must also meet certain physical standards, according to an internal document reviewed and authenticated by Military Times.
In the document, the Pentagon called on commanders to find volunteers to attend the June 14 matches, which are being held in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary — and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
The administration set aside about 1,200 tickets for active-duty troops, said Dana white, CEO of the UFC. Celebrities and personal invitees of the Trump administration and UFC leadership will also attend.
The televised event will take place on the South Lawn, where a caged octagon with a towering patriotic arch was erected for the occasion.
The military described it as a “high visibility” event and provided a list of requirements for those selected to attend.
Service members must meet a waist-to-height ratio of 0.55 or less, the document states. Troops must also meet their service-specific physical fitness standards to attend.
The Pentagon introduced the waist-to-height ratio earlier this year as a means to evaluate the body fat of troops.
The ratio, which is calculated by dividing someone’s waist circumference by their height, replaced traditional height-and-weight tables as the primary measure of physical standards.
The U.S. Marine Corps imposed a more strict measure, ordering their personnel to meet a waist-to-height ratio of 0.52 or less.
A man’s average height in the U.S. is around 5 feet, 7 inches tall with a waist circumference of 40.6 inches, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. That equates to a waist-to-height ratio of 0.59. The average height for a woman is approximately 5 feet, 2 inches tall with a waist of 38.5 inches, making the waist-to-height ratio 0.61.
Service members selected for the UFC matches should also be “genuine UFC fans,” the document says. Commands were encouraged to select junior enlisted service members and junior officers.
The Pentagon also asked that commands select service members outside the national capital region. However, the document noted that the military would not cover the cost of their travel.
Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, told Military Times last week that the endeavor “will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary.”
American Justin Gaethje and Spanish-Georgian champion Ilia Topuria are slated to headline the card in a lightweight title fight, while Brazil’s Alex Pereira and France’s Ciryl Gane will square off for the heavyweight crown.
Military Times reporters Cristina Stassis and Tanya Noury contributed to this report.
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
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