Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and two-division champion Henry Cejudo shared their unfiltered thoughts on the proposed UFC White House event during their latest Pound4Pound podcast episode, with both stars expressing serious concerns about the ambitious concept.
The discussion centered on recent reports suggesting the White House event could feature six to eight championship bouts, a format both veterans believe would be detrimental to the viewing experience.
“First and foremost, Henry, pardon my French, but who the f**k wants to watch seven title fights back to back, five round title fights back to back to back?” Usman questioned. “What if the four or the five or the six in a row are boring?”
Cejudo immediately agreed with his co-host’s assessment. “I agree with you 100%. You’re 100% right because five rounds in comparison to three rounds, like I think you do maybe two to three title fights, that’s it. The rest should all be possibly fight of the nights, blood, rematches, fights that have gone in the history books.”
Usman elaborated on why championship matches may not provide the entertainment value organizers hope for. “We want to see contender fights. We want to see guys who are willing to go risk their lives out there. When you’re the champion, your whole goal is to keep that. You want to be smart. You want to be tactical. You want to strategically retain your title.”
The Nigerian Nightmare continued his critique of the concept, pointing out the fundamental difference between champions and contenders. “Champions aren’t going out there to just go, ‘Yeah, we’re going to throw caution to the wind and just swing for the fences like we’re in a bar fight.’ That’s not what champions do because that’s not what gets you to be a champion. You got to be smarter than everybody else.”
Both fighters expressed concern about the marathon viewing experience such a card would create. “This whole notion of let’s put six title fights on there, I think that’s a bad idea,” Usman stated. “And honestly, I might be asleep by round three. By title fight three, I might be asleep.”
Cejudo offered his theory on how the ambitious concept came about. “I think President Trump, because he was excited, I think he spoke a little too much. So I think that’s also putting pressure on a guy like Dana White in the UFC. You know what I’m saying? Because he’s like, ‘Yeah, it’ll be six to eight title fights like nine.’ I think he might have said nine. I’m just like, ‘S**t, that don’t sound right.'”
Despite their reservations, both expressed confidence in UFC CEO Dana White’s ability to deliver a quality event. “Dana White knows how to put this together better than anyone,” Usman said. “He knows how to run a show and he’s going to understand that putting seven, eight title fights on one card is ridiculous.”
Usman acknowledged the unique pressure surrounding the event. “Dana White’s going to pull this together the proper way because this is what he does better than anyone right now. And that’s making sure that the fans and everyone at home gets a fantastic show.”
The former champion also noted the logistical concerns about the venue itself. “My man said they’re going to walk literally from the Oval Office. So, we going to just walk in the middle of someone’s office where they conduct business, where they really run the world.”
While maintaining their criticisms of the current concept, both Usman and Cejudo acknowledged the historic nature of the event. “Whatever it is, however he puts it together, we know it’s going to be fantastic at the White House,” Usman concluded.
