On JRE MMA Show #179 with Josh Thompson and “Big” John McCarthy, Joe Rogan made it clear he is not a fan of the UFC hosting a championship event outdoors on the White House grounds. While discussing Justin Gaethje’s potential title match at the venue, Rogan acknowledged the spectacle surrounding the idea before immediately voicing his concerns.
“The White House thing is odd. I don’t like it. I don’t like the idea of competing outside at all,” Rogan said.
Rogan’s biggest issue centered around the environmental conditions athletes could face. Referencing Washington D.C.’s summer temperatures, he pointed out that the city had reached 100 degrees on the same date the previous year.
John McCarthy then brought up UFC 3 as an example of how outdoor conditions can become.
“Go back to UFC 3. See how hot it was,” McCarthy said.
Rogan also questioned how organizers would deal with insects during the event, sarcastically dismissing the idea that there could be an easy solution.
“You have bug strips everywhere. What are you going to do? How are you going to stop the bugs? There’s a lot of bugs,” Rogan said.
McCarthy then jokingly said, “Pesticide. That’s good for the athletes. That’ll help with their breathing.”
For Rogan, the issue goes beyond comfort and directly affects the integrity of a championship match. He argued that elite athletes should compete in controlled environments rather than dealing with unpredictable weather and outdoor conditions.
“I just don’t think that you should compete in a world championship event in a non-controlled environment,” Rogan explained. “I think it should be inside an air-conditioned arena. It should be a controlled environment, just like you wouldn’t ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy. You have to play in an air-conditioned arena, and that’s how it should be.”
When McCarthy pushed back and argued that the White House backdrop was the main attraction, Rogan still was not convinced.
“Put it in the background on TV. Who gives a f**k?” Rogan responded. “It’s just like when world-class athletes are competing. I don’t think they should have to compete outside.”
Rogan also tied the issue to the already dangerous realities of weight cutting in MMA. He pointed out that dehydrated athletes being forced to compete in intense heat could create even more problems.
“Imagine the dehydrated athletes that are now being forced 24 hours later to compete in 100-degree heat,” Rogan said.
Rather than scrapping the White House concept entirely, Rogan suggested building a temporary covered structure to create a controlled setting for the fights.
“A roof. Build a roof,” Rogan said. “You’ve got all the money in the world, right? You’re doing this. It’s 4,000 seats. You build a 4,000-seat arena. How big is that? Get a barnaminium. Put it in there. Like we did the UFC’s in the troops. We did them in the troops. We did them in hangers.”
