Joe Rogan voices concerns over UFC White House fighter safety
There is no bigger fan of the UFC than Joe Rogan, but even he has concerns about the event the company will be holding at the White House next month.
The event, titled UFC Freedom 250, will take place on Sunday, June 14, at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Aside from its location, what makes this event different from others the UFC holds is that it’ll take place outside on the White House South Lawn.
And that’s the issue for Rogan, who has fears for the safety of the fighters as a result.
One concern Rogan has is how hot it’ll be outside when the event takes place next month.
“The White House thing is odd. I don’t like it. I don’t like the idea of fighting outside at all. It’s June and it’s D.C. and we looked it up, the last time, like last year, same day, was 100 degrees. That’s hot as f***. You add the lights. How about dehydration,” Rogan asked.
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That’s certainly a fair point from Rogan.
UFC fights are taxing enough on the fighters, now add in hot temperatures and that won’t make things any easier.
Joe Rogan expresses more concerns
Jun 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Payton Talbott (left) is interviewed by Joe Rogan during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Rogan then expressed concern about bugs and once again touched on the event being in a “non-controlled environment.”
“The bugs are a big one,” Rogan added to his list of concerns. “How are they going to f****** do anything about the bugs because I know that Dana was talking about that recently, they were talking about maybe using fans. Is that enough? Got bug strips everywhere? What are you going to do? How are you going to stop the bugs, there’s a lot of bugs. ”
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“I just don’t think that you should compete in a world championship fight in a non-controlled environment,” he added. “I think it should be inside an air conditioned arena. It should be a controlled environment. You wouldn’t ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy. You play in a f****** air conditioned arena. That’s how it should be.”
Rogan’s solution is to “build a f****** roof,” which is certainly doable considering the UFC has “all the money in the world,” as Rogan put it.
Hard to argue with any of the concerns Rogan has, but as of right now it doesn’t look like Dana White and the UFC are overly concerned about them.
UFC Freedom 250 fight card
- Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje, lightweight title bout
- Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane, heavyweight interim title bout
- Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, bantamweight
- Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis, heavyweight
- Michael Chandler vs. Mauricio Ruffy, lightweight
- Kyle Daukaus vs. Bo Nickal, middleweight
- Steve Garcia vs. Diego Lopes, featherweight