Sean O'Malley is staying focused on performance, not forecasts, as he prepares to face Aiemann Zahabi outdoors at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14.
The former UFC bantamweight champion meets Zahabi in what is described as a significant contender bout, part of a card that also features two championship-level fights. The Weather Channel projects temperatures between 67 and 85 degrees on fight day, with no available details yet on potential precipitation.
Joe Rogan has questioned the setup, saying, "I just don't think you should compete in a world championship fight in a non-controlled environment," and adding, "It should be inside an air-conditioned arena. ... Imagine if someone loses a fight because it's too hot outside."
O'Malley, whose bout is not a title fight, acknowledged the risks but stressed that every fighter accepted the same conditions. "It's at the White House, so you gotta deal with whatever you gotta deal with," he said. He added, "It's unfortunate, but none of us signed the contract thinking it was inside, you know what I mean? We all know it's outside. We all know what we're getting into. Maybe not to an extent, we don't know what all is gonna happen, but we all know it's gonna be outside and we're gonna have to possibly deal with stuff. We all signed it."
Looking ahead to June 14, O'Malley summed up his mindset: "If the weather's not crazy, it's gonna come down to who's better."
