The start of the UFC White House card has been delayed as the fighters will now be stepping into the cage an hour later than expected.
The UFC White House card broadcast still takes place at 8 p.m. ET as scheduled.
However, instead of the fights taking place at 8 p.m., the fighters will now begin making the walk at 9 p.m.
The UFC announced the late change on Sunday night for UFC Freedom 250.
UPDATE: The UFC has removed UFC Freedom 250 from the rain delay, and the event has now started at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Reason for Fights Being Delayed
The reason for the fights being delayed by an hour is likely due to the weather, as there are severe thunderstorm warnings in the Washington, D.C. area. The UFC is likely hoping that by delaying the start of the fights by an hour, they can avoid any sort of weather-related delays.
This is, of course, the risk the UFC knew about when they chose to hold an outdoor event.
UFC president Dana White famously does not like to hold events outdoors, as he’s only promoted one other UFC card outdoors in 2010.
UFC Freedom 250 Full Card
Here is the full UFC Freedom 250 fight card.
- Main event: UFC lightweight title unification bout – Ilia Topuria (C) vs. Justin Gaethje (IC)
- 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
On paper, it is one of the strongest cards the UFC has ever put together, as it features seven fantastic fights, including two UFC title fights.
It is also worth noting that UFC president Dana White has chosen to give out massive bonuses to the fighters. The two fighters who win Performance of the Night get $425,000 each, while the two fighters who win Fight of the Night get $400,000 each.
Now, let’s just hope the weather cooperates tonight so the fighters can step into the cage at 9 p.m., because any later than that and this is going to be an extremely long night, especially for those fight fans on the East Coast.
UFC White House Start Time Delayed