During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Vice President JD Vance revealed a moment involving UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje and his mother, which took place inside the Oval Office following the historic UFC event held on the South Lawn of the White House.
Vance told Rogan that he had crossed paths with Gaethje at the White House a couple of weeks after the match and seized the opportunity to ask him directly about his future in the sport.
“I asked him, ‘So, are you done competing?'” Vance recalled. “And he kind of hesitated a little bit and then I think it was his mom was in the Oval Office with her. She’s like, ‘Yes.'”
The question came with real weight behind it. Gaethje had just endured an intensive outing against Ilia Topuria at the White House event, a night that saw every single match on the card end by stoppage, a record in UFC history.
Gaethje’s bout in particular drew attention beyond just the result. Vance described watching the final match unfold in real time, noting that the referee attempted to call it at the end of the third round. The reason, it turned out, had nothing to do with a concussion and everything to do with Topuria’s vision.
“He was saying he couldn’t see well,” Rogan told Vance. “Something was wrong with his right eye.”
By that point, Topuria’s face had swollen to the point where seeing clearly was nearly impossible.
Rogan was not so quick to close the book on Gaethje’s career, however.
“If they offer him some life-changing money for one more fight after that performance, I have a feeling he’ll take it,” he said. The performance against Topuria reminded fans why Gaethje has always been one of the most compelling athletes in the sport.
