UFC president Dana White clapped back at UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who suggested the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 card is a “gimmick.”
White will promote UFC Freedom 250 next Sunday, June 14, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. It will be the second time that White has promoted a UFC event outdoors, and the first since UFC 112 in 2010.
Rogan recently said on his podcast that he had serious concerns about the UFC Freedom 250 card being outside, comments that surprised some people, since Rogan works for the UFC.
But as far as White goes, Rogan has a right to his own opinion, though he did take issue with him suggesting that the card is a “gimmick.”
Dana White Responds to Joe Rogan
Speaking to Forbes in a recent interview ahead of UFC Freedom 250, White responded to the comments Rogan made about the UFC White House card being outdoors.
“Joe Rogan is a grown ass man who has his own opinions on different things – and yes, we are really good friends. I don’t call him and say, ‘What are you doing? What are you talking about bugs?’ I’m talking about bugs, too. These are all real things that come into play that night of the fight, and you’re gonna have different people that work for me, not as high-profile as Joe Rogan, who probably have some concerns about a lot of things in doing this event – but we’re gonna do it. To the best of our ability, we’re gonna get it done,” White said (via MMAjunkie.com).
White also responded to the comments Rogan made about the card being a gimmick, something that White shot back at as he doesn’t agree with that take at all.
“Whatever Joe Rogan’s opinions are – he said something crazy like, ‘It seems like a gimmick.’ I mean, what does a gimmick mean? It’s a real fight, with real stakes. You got (Alex) Pereira possibly winning his third world title. If he wins the third world title that night, he jumps over Jon Jones and becomes the greatest of all time. When you talk about a gimmick, there’s absolutely nothing gimmicky about this event. We’re celebrating 250 years of America, we’re gonna have all the representatives of the military there, every fight on that card means something with who wins or loses that night, and you know, like the most historical sporting event in American history. Far from a gimmick,” White said.
“Joe is a grown man, can have his opinions on anything, and you can ask any of my people in those positions. When they say something or give an opinion, they don’t get a phone call from me ever – and the president won’t either. These guys are your friends, but everybody’s entitled to their own opinions.”
UFC Freedom 250 Full Card
Here is the full card for UFC Freedom 250, which goes down at 8 p.m. ET on June 14 at the White House in Washington, D.C., and which airs live on Paramount+.
- Main event – UFC lightweight title unification bout: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje
- Co-main event – interim UFC heavyweight title bout: Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane
- Bantamweight bout: Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Heavyweight bout: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis
- Lightweight bout: Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
- Middleweight bout: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Featherweight bout: Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
Dana White Claps Back at Joe Rogan’s UFC Freedom 250 Take