President Donald Trump has set up a 5,000-seat arena on the South Lawn to host a UFC fight.
Many decades earlier, another president had his own experiences with combat sports. A 1917 page from the Richmond Times-Dispatch describes an injury to future president Theodore Roosevelt’s eye during a 1905 boxing match. The article is noted to have factual errors, but the core story is accurate: Roosevelt sustained an injury that left him partially blind in his left eye.
Throughout most of his presidency, Roosevelt kept this injury a secret. It was not until after his term that he disclosed the details. The injury occurred in a boxing match held within the White House.