Dana White has never wanted to promote an event outdoors just due to all the weather related issues that could potentially affect an event but he’s trying to prepare for every possibility when the UFC White House card goes down on June 14.
The card takes place on the south lawn of the White House with the UFC building an entire structure around and over the octagon to hopefully prevent weather from wreaking havoc on the fights. That said, White revealed there was only one scenario where the fights could
get delayed — hopefully not cancelled — due to weather.
“We’re fighting [through bad weather],” White said during an appearance on Adin Ross’ stream. “If it f*cking snows we’re fighting. We’re fighting.
“Nothing will stop this show going that night, it could f*cking rain — lightning. Lightning is the only thing. We’d have to wait it out. We’d have to wait the lightning out and then do the fight.”
Because the fight is happening in June, it’s almost impossible to predict the weather for Washington D.C.
White admits the stress dealing with those potential hazards is a huge reason why he’s never really entertained holding a UFC event outdoors.
That obviously changed for a once-in-a-lifetime event like the UFC White House card but he’ll be holding his breath until the fights start on June 14.
“Listen, this is why I don’t like doing things outside,” White said. “Obviously rain would suck. Heavy winds will suck. If it’s muggy and [there’s] bugs. All this kind of shit is stuff that you have to deal with when you do something outside.
“But we’re going through all of it. If any of those things happen, it doesn’t matter, we’re still going. Like I said, if it f*cking snows, we’re going. Lightning is the only thing that will really screw us.”
Preparations for the UFC White House card are actually starting much earlier than any other typical UFC event.
White said Craig Borsari, who handles all of the UFC’s live production, has basically already moved to Washington D.C. to get ready with staging on the south lawn of the White House to start in a matter of weeks.
“We actually start loading into the White House in May,” White said. “We start setting up in May. Normally we come here [to Miami], you start moving in a couple of days before the event. We’ll be moving in over a month ahead.”
After the UFC White House card was first announced, White showed off early plans for how the event might look with the octagon on the south lawn along with the structure that the promotion is building around the cage.
But White says the full setup for the UFC White House card is going to be revealed during the UFC 327 broadcast on Saturday from Miami with President Donald Trump also expected in attendance.
“Actually the fight this Saturday will be the first look people will see what the south lawn is going to look like,” White said. “On the fight on Paramount this weekend. We have a spot for it and it will actually show the setup of the south lawn.”
