Even with two of the biggest stars, Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira, sharing the headlining spots, the UFC Freedom 250 card is facing some criticism. Though fans love the main events, Dana White is receiving underwhelming responses for the rest of the card. Amid the disappointing reactions, Sean O’Malley has risked drawing heat from the UFC CEO with his unfiltered take.

On June 14, ‘Suga’ is one of the fighters set to represent America. He’ll face #6-ranked bantamweight contender Aiemann Zahabi at the White House, which is definitely an intriguing matchup. However, O’Malley believes his next fight doesn’t hit the same. Why? Because the former champ feels that even though he’s part of a historic event, his fight against Zahabi doesn’t carry the same weight as his championship clashes.  

“I feel like the Aljo fight felt so big, the Chito fight felt so big,” O’Malley said in a recent YouTube video. “The moment, being the main event, fighting for the title, this is a huge fight. I’m fighting … it feels like a big fight. I mean, it’s the f— White House. There’s only six fights on the card. It’s such a big deal. It feels like a big fight, but the moment, I guess, doesn’t seem as big as a title fight, you know what I’m saying?” He added.  

For a UFC fighter, the first championship fight always holds a special place. But Sean O’Malley claiming that his fight doesn’t feel as big compared to his title bouts does point toward how the matchmaking has been for the White House event. It’s true that giving ‘Suga’ another title shot off a win over Song Yadong would have been tough. However, many have pointed out that Cory Sandhagen would have been a much better option, considering the theme of the event.

Would that have made O’Malley thrilled? We don’t know, but at least it would have added much-needed spice to the entire card. That said, Dana White might not be too pleased with the former champ’s take. Why? The 31-year-old has largely been a company man, especially when it comes to topics like fighters’ pay. So, with ‘Suga’ admitting that his fight doesn’t feel big enough, it could fuel fans who are already criticizing the card.

It draws similarities to how Daniel Cormier was left disappointed over his UFC 200 match against Anderson Silva after Jon Jones was pulled out of their scheduled rematch. After Jones failed his drug test, Cormier accepted a fight against Silva, which he won via decision. However, ‘DC’ was upset for not being able to fight ‘Bones’ at the event.

That said, O’Malley isn’t alone. Even UFC commentator Joe Rogan admitted he’s not thrilled about the White House card, calling it “gimmicky,” although he confirmed he would still be present. So, the former 135 lbs champ isn’t alone in giving the UFC White House event a reality check.  

However, while both of them remained relatively subtle with their takes on the UFC Freedom 250 card, another UFC fighter went a step further and launched into a full-blown rant. 

Colby Covington thrashes “Poor” UFC White House card

Ahead of the White House card, fans believed Colby Covington’s involvement as a patriotic American fighter was inevitable. Many even fantasized about a stellar matchup against Bo Nickal. But in the end, the promotion didn’t feature ‘Chaos’ on the June 14 card, and he was visibly upset about it. Still, even without taking part in the marquee event, Covington believes the entire card turned out to be weak, especially with Michael Chandler on it.

“It’s pi– poor at best,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “I think the fans have said it. The fans have spoken. The fans have said they hate it, it’s a terrible card. They promised six or seven title fights. Now they have one title fight and an interim title fight they put together last minute. The thing was just so disorganized. There weren’t any big, high-ranking American fighters.

They have Michael Chandler, who is 40 years old, and then Sean O’Malley, who is a great fighter, love Sean, but besides that, who are the guys representing America on the 250th birthday of America? It doesn’t seem like there’s that guy there. It just seems like they don’t care anymore. They made all that money with Paramount, and they’re just happy. It is what it is. The fans have spoken. It’s unfortunate,” he added.

To be honest, the UFC White House card as a regular event would’ve been a solid 10 out of 10. But the fans’ disdain became prominent when it didn’t live up to Dana White’s promise of building the baddest card of all time. To make it clear, fans expected stars like Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, and Conor McGregor to feature at the event. Instead, they settled on a matchup between Michael Chandler and Mauricio Ruffy after a lot of buildup.

That said, what’s your opinion about the UFC Freedom 250 card? Let us know in the comments section below.