Why Fans Are Upset With The UFC White House Fight Card?

The UFC White House event is arguably one of the most talked-about events in recent times. The first-of-its-kind event set to take place at the White House had fans eagerly waiting. However, after months of teasing from the company’s head honcho, Dana White, the fans seemed to have been left disappointed.

The official fight card for the event was announced during the UFC 326 broadcast this past weekend. As announced, the main event of the historic card will be a UFC lightweight championship matchup between Ilia Topuria (C) vs. Justin Gaethje. In the co-main, Ciryl Gane will take on Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight championship.

Additionally, Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi, a lightweight bout between Mauricio Ruffy and Michael Chandler, a middleweight bout between Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus, and a featherweight bout between Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia are also set for the card.

While the fight card does feature some interesting matchups, it does not seem to have the firepower people expected it to have. That said, in this piece, we will take a deeper look at why fans seemed to be upset.

A major reason as to why fans seem to be upset with the fight card announcement seems to be the fact that the event is lacking two of the biggest stars UFC has arguably ever seen. Conor McGregor and Jon Jones are undoubtedly superstars of the sport, and fans expected them to be on the UFC White House card.

Moreover, the decision not to have them on the card has left the fans rather confused. Both McGregor and Jones were willing to be on the card and were even vocal about wanting to have a fight on the historic night. However, for some reason, both of the fighters were left out.

Apart from McGregor and Jones, another thing that was quite surprising was the fact that the fight card has no women fighters. Considering how far women’s MMA has come over the years, this feels like a true setback.

The common consensus around the fight card is simple: it is clearly not as good as fans expected it to be after months of being hyped up. However, it is still a fight card that consists of former and current champions who will make sure fans watching the event have a great time.

As far as the event is considered, it is being called UFC Freedom 250 and will take place on June 14th, 2026. That said, it will be interesting to see how the event unfolds. One thing is for sure, despite the backlash, the event is going to be a spectacle like no other in the sport of MMA.