With UFC White House less than three weeks away, Sean O’Malley spoke during an interview about what it means to compete in an outdoor setting at the White House on June 14 and whether the conditions concern him ahead of his match against Aiemann Zahabi.
The topic came up when interviewer Mike Bohn referenced comments made by Joe Rogan. Rogan had previously said he does not believe athletes should compete in championship-level bouts in a non-controlled environment, pointing out that someone could potentially lose simply because the weather is too hot outside.
O’Malley acknowledged the concern but made it clear he is not dwelling on it.
“It’s at the White House, so it’s just, you know, you got to deal with whatever you got to deal with,” O’Malley said. “That would suck to lose because of a reason outside of your skill set. May the best man win.”
He continued by admitting that unpredictable conditions could still affect the outcome of a match.
“And if something plays a role because it’s outside and it affects the match somehow, that would suck,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, but none of us signed the contract thinking it was inside. We all know it’s outside.”
O’Malley also emphasized that every athlete accepted the same risks when agreeing to compete on the card.
“We all know what we’re getting into,” he said. “Maybe not to an extent, like we don’t know what all is going to happen, but we all know it’s going to be outside and we’re going to have to deal with, possibly deal with stuff. So we all signed it.”
Bohn then pointed out that O’Malley could have a natural advantage. The former bantamweight champion trains in Arizona and spends significant time in Las Vegas, while Zahabi trains in Canada and is more accustomed to cooler climates.
O’Malley, however, was careful not to overplay that angle.
“No humidity here. I’m not dealing with humidity here,” he said. “Dry heat. Very dry heat, but heat nonetheless.”
He added that he still expects skill and preparation to be the deciding factors if the weather remains manageable.
“We’ll see,” O’Malley said. “If the weather’s not crazy, it’s going to come down to who’s better, who’s more skilled, who’s more prepared, and that’s what I think it’s going to come down to with all these fights.”
Despite the ongoing discussion surrounding the outdoor conditions, O’Malley said he is not overly concerned.
“I’m not too worried about these weather conditions,” he said, “and we’re going to have to adapt to it if it is messed up weather.”
UFC White House takes place June 14 at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.
