Dana White has been adamant that he won’t allow Jon Jones to fight at the UFC: White House event in June next year, but now Joe Rogan has broken ranks to insist that the former two-division champion has to be involved in the one-of-a-kind show.
“If they don’t do Jon Jones at the White House, I think it would be a travesty,” Rogan said on his podcast. “They need to do that. C’mon! Dana’s like, ‘You can’t count on him.’ You can f*cking count on him. C’mon, stop. At the White House? C’mon!”
Rogan also laughed off President Trump’s recent suggestion that there will be 8 or 9 title fights on the card.
“First of all, there are only eight weight classes, so how’s there going to be nine title fights? [Laughs]” Rogan said, before mimicking Trump while joking, “‘We’re gonna have 20 title fights! All the title fights that’s ever been!’”
Rogan actually made a mistake there as there is actually 11 current UFC champions, or 12 if you count the symbolic ‘BMF’ champ Max Holloway.
That being said, Rogan’s not the only one who had raised an eyebrow at the idea of having so many title fights on one event, which could lead to a lot of problems in terms of the length of the show due to championship bouts having more rounds, in addition to it also meaning there would have to be a lack of titles on the line in the months leading up to the show.
And even looking beyond that, Rogan thinks there’s plenty of other potential issues with holding an event on the grounds of the White House, including concerns about security and the weather on the day.
“A lot of weird pressure, too,” Rogan said of the event. “Because it’s like, all the security and protocols, all that extra shit in your mind before you have to go out there and fight. …
“Also, you’re fighting outside. It’s hot. What if it’s hot and muggy? That’s going to affect people. …
“So who knows what’s going to happen? I guess they’ll probably have to have some sort of roof over it, but what if it’s 98 degrees outside? It’s June in Baltimore, Maryland, whatever that is. D.C. gets hot in the summer!”
