Dana White is already game-planning for an unusual opponent ahead of UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House: bugs.
The UFC event is scheduled for June 14, and White, who has a longstanding dislike of outdoor shows, is zeroed in on how gnats and other insects could affect fighters under the lights. The promotion has installed a large lighting rig nicknamed "the claw" for the card.
"Another problem that I always think about, especially on the East coast: bugs," White said while discussing the event. He described a recent dinner at The Rose Garden, saying, "The amount of gnats that are flying around, I'm like, 'Holy sh*t.' As soon as I got on the plane, I got on the phone with my head of production and said, 'Yeah, let me tell you about the gnat situation tonight.'"
White said he immediately raised the issue with UFC executive producer Craig Borsari and is even weighing the use of fans to help keep insects away. "In your mouth, in your nose while you're trying to fight. I was telling Craig, my head of production, I'm like, 'Maybe we put fans in, because gnats have a bad time in the wind,'" White explained.
"I don't know. These are all the little details we have to think about. That's why I don't like fighting outside ever."
