The one thing that could derail the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House is rain in the weather forecast on June 14. UFC CEO Dana White admittedly doesn’t like the idea of hosting an event outdoors. The fight promotion has only held one event outdoors at a temporary open-air Concert Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab in April 2010.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently voiced concerns about the White House card taking place outside but former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley dismissed Rogan’s worries.
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“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. … Imagine if someone loses a fight because it’s too hot outside,” Rogan said on the JRE MMA Show.
“It’s at the White House, so it’s just, you know, you’ve got to deal with whatever you got to deal with. That would suck to lose because of a reason outside of your skill set, you know, let the best man win. And if something plays a role because it’s outside and it affects the fight somehow, that would suck. it’s unfortunate but none of us signed the contract thinking it was inside,” O’Malley told MMAJunkie.
“We all know it’s outside. We all know what we’re getting into. Maybe not to an extent. Like, we don’t know what all’s going to happen, but we all know it’s going to be outside and we’re going to have to deal with, you know, possibly deal with stuff. So, we all signed it,” O’Malley continued.
“If the weather’s not crazy, it’s just going to be, it’s going to come down to who’s better, who’s more skilled, who’s more prepared. And that’s what I think it’s going to come down to with these fights. So, I’m not too worried about these weather conditions. And, you know, we’re going to have to adapt to it if it is messed up weather.”
O’Malley, ranked No. 2 in the bantamweight division, takes on No. 6 ranked Aiemann Zahabi on the South Lawn.
