At this rate, if Dana White still had hair, he’d be ripping it out in panic. The UFC CEO has been consumed with building the massive UFC Freedom 250 card, set for June 14 on the White House South Lawn. Plans include a temporary 4,300-seat open-air arena, while a nearby 52-acre park is expected to host as many as 85,000 fans. But amid all the spectacle, one major problem has been keeping Dana White up at night.
‘’Another problem that I always think about, especially on the East Coast, bugs,” White told Rich Kleiman during a recent interview. “So President Trump just opened the Rose Garden two nights ago, and he invited me to dinner there. The amount of gnats that were flying around, I’m like, ‘Holy s—t.’ As soon as I got on the plane, I called my head of production and said, ‘Yeah, let me tell you about the gnat situation tonight.
“So when you’re a fighter, think about that lighting grid, the claw that we’re going to have, the amount of power in the lights, moths, gnats, and God knows what else, fighters trying to deal with that. These are all the things I think about. And I never knew that. No. But yeah, in your mouth and your nose while you’re trying to fight.”
🦟😬 Dana White reveals there's a bug problem at the White House and he doesn't know how to solve it yet: «President Trump just opened the Rose Garden two nights ago and he invited me to dinner there. The amount of gnats that were flying around… I’m like “Holy sh*t…” As soon Show more
While White’s concern is legitimate, outdoor sporting events have dealt with these problems for years. Organizers typically bring in insect-control teams to carry out barrier sprays or fogging treatments one to three days before the event, targeting vegetation, perimeters, and potential breeding zones with EPA-approved solutions.
Vegetation around the venue can also be trimmed down to eliminate resting spots, assuming the White House allows those adjustments. Combined with pre-event treatments and routine inspections, the bug issue can be heavily minimized. Still, the most effective solution may be the simplest one: giant industrial fans.
Strong airflow makes it difficult for insects to swarm, cutting down on distractions and irritation for both fighters and fans. And, unsurprisingly, Dana White has already thought of that.
“I was telling Craig, my head of production, I was like, ‘Maybe, we put fans in because gnats have a hard time in the wind.’ I don’t know, man. These are all the little details that we have to think about. That’s why I don’t like fighting outside, ever.’’
While the bug problem can be taken care of, there’s another one Dana White has spoken about in the past.
Dana White reveals only the weather problem that can cause issues for UFC Freedom 250
Since the event is happening in June, predicting the weather for Washington DC is nearly impossible. While the UFC boss is prepared to push through rain, wind, humidity, and other outdoor complications, lightning remains the lone issue that could temporarily stop the show.
“We’re fighting [through bad weather]. If it f—king snows, we’re fighting. We’re fighting,” White said. “Nothing will stop this show going that night, it could f—king rain — lightning. Lightning is the only thing. We’d have to wait it out. We’d have to wait the lightning out and then do the fight.”
In preparation for the event, Craig Borsari, the man in charge of handling UFC’s events, has moved to DC to get things in order for the event.
The UFC can make all the preparation they like, but some things are just unpredictable, which they might have to deal with in real time. Hopefully, though, nothing will go wrong.
