Dana White has responded to Joe Rogan’s criticism of the UFC Freedom 250 event, defending the planned June 14 card on the White House lawn while acknowledging his longtime commentator’s concerns.
Rogan has questioned the idea of championship fights taking place outdoors, pointing to heat, weather, and bugs as potential factors that could affect the athletes. White, however, made it clear he isn’t bothered by Rogan speaking his mind and that the event is still moving forward.
“Joe Rogan is a grown ass man who has his own opinions on different things,” White said, before expanding on how he views the debate. “And yes, we are really good friends. I don’t call him and say, ‘What are you doing? Why 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 also addressed Rogan’s suggestion that the White House lawn spectacle “seems like a gimmick.” He countered, “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.”
