UFC color commentator Joe Rogan is questioning why the promotion is holding the UFC White House card outdoors in the elements.
The upcoming UFC Freedom 250 mega event takes place on June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. This is the first time in over 16 years since the world’s leading MMA promotion has held an event outdoors, with the last time being UFC 112 in April 2010, when Anderson Silva headlined against Demian Maia outdoors in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
UFC president Dana White has always said that he despises outdoor events for several reasons, including bad weather, bugs, and other elements affecting the fights. But for the UFC Freedom 250 card, White put his own personal hatred for outdoor cards aside as the UFC White House event is a spectacle he is willing to make an exception for.
Rogan, however, isn’t so sure it’s a good idea.
Joe Rogan Has Questions About UFC White House Card
Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the UFC commentator said that he has serious concerns about the promotion holding the UFC Freedom 250 card outdoors.
“I don’t like the idea of fighting outside at all. June, and it’s D.C., and we looked it up last year: The same day was 100 degrees. Hot as (expletive). How about dehydration? The bugs are a big one. How the (expletive) are they going to do anything about the bugs? Dana was talking about that recently. They were talking about maybe using fans. Is that enough? You’re gonna get bug strips everywhere? What are you going to do? How are you going to stop the bugs. There’s a lot of bugs. Pesticide the (expletive) out of the place? I just don’t think you should compete in a world championship fight in a non-controlled environment. It should be inside an air-conditioned arena. It should be a controlled environment,” Rogan said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“You wouldn’t ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy. You play in a (expletive) air conditioned arena, and that’s how it should be. Build a (expletive) roof. You’ve got all the money in the world, right? You want to do this for America. It’s 4,000 seats? You build a 4,000-seat arena. Imagine if someone loses a fight because it’s too hot out. Imagine if that becomes a factor. Imagine the dehydrated fighters, the dehydrated fighters that are now being forced 24 hours later to fight. We did one outside in Abu Dhabi. There were bugs flying around; it looked like birds. They were so big.”
UFC White House Lineup
Despite Rogan’s reservations, the UFC Freedom 250 card is scheduled to go as planned.
Here is the full UFC White House card taking place on June 14.
- UFC lightweight title unification bout: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje
- Interim UFC heavyweight title bout: Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira
- Bantamweight bout: Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Heavyweight bout: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis
- Lightweight bout: Michael Chandler vs. Mauricio Ruffy
- Middleweight bout: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Featherweight bout: Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
Joe Rogan Questions UFC White House Card Being Held Outdoors