About a month ago, Joe Rogan raised a serious concern on his podcast. He told Konstantin Kisin that the Freedom 250 UFC event at the White House was a big security risk. “It’s going to be very high security and high stress and weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a f–king war. I would hope the war will be sorted out by June, but quite honestly, I’m not confident that’s going to be the case. So that’ll be weird, having this very high-profile event where everybody is in one place at one time right there,” Rogan said. It turns out he was right, and to no one’s surprise, the security detail at the event, Homeland Security announced, will be top of the line.

As June 14 approaches, government agencies are preparing to treat the card with the same seriousness as one of America’s greatest annual spectacles. According to reports, the event has been assigned a Level 1 Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR), the Department of Homeland Security’s highest classification. That immediately puts it in the same category as the Super Bowl, an event known for its massive, multi-agency security presence.

Level 1 status indicates that this isn’t just about crowd management; it is about national-level coordination.

The security plan will include aerial monitoring, cyber threat assessments, explosive detection teams, and extensive screening procedures. A federal coordination team will manage operations, working with municipal and state officials to ensure that everything runs smoothly. In short, this isn’t just an event; it’s a full-scale operation. And it’s not limited to the Octagon on the South Lawn.

The nearby Ellipse, where thousands of fans are expected to gather for Fan Fest and watch parties, will be subject to the same security measures. With crowd projections reaching 90,000, the scope of the operation extends far beyond the fight itself.

This includes no-drone zones, surveillance systems, controlled entry points, and real-time intelligence monitoring, which is normally reserved for events of global significance.

This isn’t just another UFC event. It is a one-of-a-kind event in one of the most sensitive and symbolic locations in the United States. And, while fans will be focused on the fights, behind the scenes, it’ll look a lot like the Super Bowl—just with an Octagon at the center.

Perhaps these measures will put some of Rogan’s fears at rest. The itinerary, released a few days ago, gives us a better picture of how the weekend will look.

The ball gets rolling on Friday, June 12, with the Kickoff Press Conference (8:30 PM ET at The Lincoln Memorial). On Saturday, June 13, at The Ellipse, you have the Inaugural Fan Fest (3:30 PM ET), Official Weigh-Ins (8:30 PM ET), and a live performance of the Zac Brown Band (9:30 PM ET). On Sunday, you have the Final Day Fan Fest at the Ellipse from 3:30 PM ET, followed by the event at the South Lawn at 8:00 PM ET.

However, it is worth noting that this isn’t the only occasion on which Dana White has expressed security concerns. He recently admitted that he is well aware of the complications that might arise from the middleweight title fight scheduled for the month before the White House event.

Dana White wants increased security for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland before UFC White House

The increased focus on security begins long before the White House event. In fact, it seems to be part of a larger concern for the UFC right now, particularly when certain matchups offer their own degree of unpredictability. And few fights carry that kind of tension like Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland.

Even before the fight was made official, head honcho Dana White had acknowledged the potential for chaos.

“Fun card and obviously the main event is the fight that people have been waiting for a long time,” he said on the UFC’s YouTube channel. “Strickland looked incredible in his last performance, and you know, how much security do you think we’re gonna need for Chimaev vs. Strickland?”

The two fighters’ histories, paired with their reputations for really heated exchanges, have already raised internal red flags. So, the increased security is not without reason.

Both men have previously been involved in violent situations, such as Khamzat Chimaev’s backstage altercations and Sean Strickland‘s tendency to escalate verbal conflicts into physical ones.

That context changes how the UFC approaches everything from press conferences to weigh-ins. And, with the White House card coming up just a few weeks later, it’s clear that the promotion isn’t taking any chances with the spotlight getting any bigger.