UFC Freedom 250 is just weeks away from making its White House debut on the South Lawn, but the event does not have the support of Joe Rogan, a UFC commentator and prominent ally of President Donald Trump.
“The White House thing is odd. I don’t like it,” Rogan, 58, told his guests, UFC fighter Josh Thompson and “Big” John McCarthy, on the Wednesday, May 27, episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
“I don’t like the idea of fighting outside at all,” he continued, adding that he “looked it up,” and last year on June 14, the day of the scheduled event which also marks Trump’s 80th birthday, it was 100 degrees in Washington, D.C.
UFC Freedom 250 will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Trump, 79, announced the event last July, and UFC CEO Dana White, another friend of Trump’s, confirmed it the next month via X.
Rogan, however, is skeptical about holding the event outdoors instead of having fighters step into the Octagon.
“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,” he said. “You wouldn’t ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy, right? You play in a f***ing air-conditioned arena and that’s how it should be.”
He continued, “Build a f***ing roof! Build a roof. Like you’ve got all the money in the world, right? You want to do this for f***ing America? Build a 4,000-seat arena. Get a f***ing barndominium.”
Rogan also criticized the optics of the event, which it appears will be held while the war in Iran rages on.
“It sounds crazy, I know it’s going to be very high security, and high stress, and weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a f*** war,” he said. “I’m going to be there. Allegedly. If there’s not a bomb that goes off between now and then. Who f***ing knows? The world is crazy.”
Though Trump initially promised “20 to 25,000” spectators on the South Lawn, that has been drastically reduced to around 4,300, with 1,200 seats reserved for active military members. UFC Freedom 250 will also be streamed at The Ellipse, which is just south of the White House. The park will be able to fit up to 85,000 additional spectators.
White, 56, has also announced a long list of celebrities who have been extended invitations to attend. He told Time in a story published Tuesday, May 26, that the list includes Tom Brady, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Adam Sandler, Jared Leto, Mario Lopez, Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham.
The two title fights at UFC Freedom 250 will be lightweight champion Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje, and Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira, as they vie for the interim heavyweight title.
