UFC White House isn’t just an event—it’s a dream, the kind fans see at night. The best and the scariest fighters on one card, all throwing down. Naturally, the anticipation has become a kind of obsession, and every new detail feels like water to the thirsty. Months after the initial announcement, President Donald Trump revealed key updates during Sunday’s 48th Kennedy Center Honors Gala. But Joe Rogan isn’t buying all of it.

“The great Dana White is building an arena,” Trump told a horde of reporters. “They’re going to have eight or nine championship fights, the biggest fights they’ve ever had… He’s actually holding back fights right now for six months so he can do it for 250.” He even claimed the arena would seat 6,000 fans, with more space for another 100,000. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has since caught wind of the comments—and he has a lot to say.

Joe Rogan claims White House card without Jon Jones will be a travesty

Speaking to UFC’s Brendan Allen, Rogan argued that Trump’s claim didn’t add up, noting that the UFC has only eight weight classes. “Okay, first of all, there [are] only eight weight classes. So how’s there gonna be nine title fights? I guess, but that’s kind of a crazy thing,” Rogan said, pointing out what he believed was an obvious error. However, he seemed to overlook the three women’s divisions that still exist: strawweight, flyweight, and bantamweight.

There was also a fourth women’s division—featherweight (145 lbs). The UFC officially closed it after longtime champion Amanda Nunes retired in mid-2023, largely because the promotion struggled to build depth since its inception in 2017 for Cris Cyborg. Nunes has since returned and is set to face Kayla Harrison at UFC 324 on January 24 for Harrison’s bantamweight title.

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So, technically, if the UFC wanted to stack the White House event with title fights across all divisions, it’s completely possible. All current UFC champions will be free by June 14, the date reportedly targeted for the card. Alexander Volkanovski has a rematch scheduled for UFC 325 on January 31 against Diego Lopes. Whoever wins will have roughly three months to recover and prepare. Harrison and Nunes will have a similar timeline.

Regardless, Joe Rogan still had issues with the proposed card itself. Talking about the card further, Rogan brought up Jon Jones into the mix. “If they don’t do Jon Jones at the White House, I think it’ll be a travesty,” the UFC commentator said during the podcast. “They need to do that! They have to. Come on! Dana’s like, you can’t count him. You can’t f—king count on him. Come on, stop.”

After Jones announced his retirement from the sport, he made a quick U-turn, learning about the White House card. But even then, Jones wants to fight light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira instead of Tom Aspinall, a fight Dana White had promised to deliver for years. Hence, he has lost trust in the former heavyweight champion. Still, it’s not out of the realm of possibility, especially because there would be demand for it. 

This, however, is not the end of Rogan’s worries about the card. 

Rogan feels the White House card would add more pressure

Speaking about the card further, he speculated that the fighters would be dealing with far more pressure than usual. “What kind of f—king security are they gonna have for this?” he asked. “A lot of weird pressure, too. Because it’s like all the security and the protocols, all that extra s—t in your mind before you have to go out there and fight.”

Rogan also pointed out that the venue itself could create problems. “Also, you’re fighting outside,” he highlighted. “What if it’s hot? What if it’s hot and muggy?” How Dana White plans to address these concerns remains to be seen. Still, UFC fighters have grown accustomed to performing under intense conditions and in front of massive crowds.

That being said, Joe Rogan clearly made a mistake, claiming there can’t be 8 or 9 title fights on the card. However, whether that happens is completely up to the UFC. Do you think it’s possible?