Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has weighed in on Joe Rogan’s recent reservations regarding the upcoming UFC event at the White House.
Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan has advocated for the promotion to construct an air-conditioned arena instead of holding fights outdoors on the South Lawn of the White House.
Rogan expressed on his podcast that the weather on June 14 is likely to be extremely hot, which could lead to dehydration for fighters on the UFC Freedom 250 card. He also highlighted concerns about insects, though UFC President Dana White has indicated that measures will be taken to address this issue.
Given that the main and co-main events of the White House card are title fights, Joe Rogan believes that championship bouts should exclusively take place in a controlled environment.
Sean O’Malley’s Reaction to Rogan’s Comments on the White House Card
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sean O’Malley, who is scheduled to fight Aiemann Zahabi on June 14, addressed Joe Rogan’s concerns about the outdoor event.
O’Malley, also known as “Suga,” acknowledged that extreme heat could potentially influence a fight’s outcome. However, he pointed out that all fighters on the card, including his Canadian opponent who is not accustomed to hot weather, were aware of the challenges associated with competing outdoors before agreeing to the fights. Therefore, he believes it is a matter of accepting the circumstances.
Speaking to Mike Bohn, “Suga” stated:
“It’s at the White House, so you gotta deal with whatever you gotta deal with. That would suck to lose because of a reason outside of your skill set.”
“May the best man win, and if something plays a role because it’s outside and it affects the fight somehow, that would suck, it is unfortunate. But none of us signed the contract thinking it was inside, you know what I mean? We all know it’s outside. We all know what we’re getting into. Maybe not to an extent; we don’t know what all is gonna happen, but we all know it’s gonna be outside and we’re gonna have to possibly deal with stuff. We all signed it… We are gonna have to adapt to it if it is messed up weather.”
Sean O’Malley’s remarks can be viewed in the video below (starting at 2:47).
