ESPN’s Jay Williams is right. UFC Freedom 250 was “a better event” than the NBA Finals

Former NBA star Jay Williams attended UFC Freedom 250 and the NBA Finals last week. According to Williams, the event on the White House South Lawn was the best.

“I was there, a stadium with 4,000 seats [for the UFC]. I have to be honest, coming off the NBA Finals where I’ve been to a lot of NBA Finals games, it’s a better event than the NBA Finals,” Williams told Stephen A. Smith on ESPN on Monday. “It was a better event than the NBA Finals. Since the White House is literally there, it’s amazing. “

In a post on Sunday evening, Smith said the UFC show “look[ed] it’s amazing” and praised UFC President Dana White.

Credit is due to both Smith and Williams, one of ESPN’s top commentators, for covering the event honestly. Most sports media wouldn’t dare say a good word about the game, considering that President Donald Trump was promoting it as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

It may have been full of patriotism and many Whites present among some members of the sports media. Former ESPN host Jemele Hill even compared the event to a Klan meeting.

“This UFC 250 event has the feel of a Klan meeting,” Hill wrote in Threads. “It’s just disgusting and disgusting.”

Is that right?

JEMELE HILL SAYS HE WOULD HAVE A JOB THEY DON’T DESERVE AND A HIGH SALARY IF HE WAS WHITE.

ESPN College GameDay host Jay Williams smiles during the pregame broadcast between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, on Feb. 1, 2025. (Lance King/Getty Images)

Yes, if the NBA had held a similar event at the White House during Barack Obama’s presidency, most of the sports media would have celebrated it.

Williams and Smith deserve credit for taking politics out of the equation. And they are right. The situation was special. There has never been anything like it. According to Dana White, there will never be anything like it again.

“It was an amazing experience; this was one thing,” White told reporters after the event. “It will never happen again.”

White said the UFC spent $60 million to build the building that houses the Octagon on the South Lawn.

DANA WHITE SAYS ‘I DON’T GIVE A S—‘ IF TRUMP’S FRIENDSHIPS HOST HER BUSINESS, 250TH CELEBRATION WAS TRUMP’S IDEA

President Donald J. Trump and his family pose for a photo in the Octagon after the UFC lightweight championship fight. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The night also serves as another reminder that the UFC has established itself as one of the most prominent sports organizations in the United States.

There is an argument that the UFC has surpassed the NHL and PGA, placing it as the fourth most popular league in the United States.

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Not bad for an organization that most countries would not even ratify at its inception, 32 years ago.

Oh, and Jay Williams is right. UFC Freedom 250 was a better event than the NBA Finals.