Dana White responds to Joe Rogan calling UFC Freedom 250 a 'gimmick'

For the most part, Dana White doesn’t care about Joe Rogan’s criticism of UFC Freedom 250, but he did push back on a particular label.

June 14 at the White House in Washington DC (Paramount+), the promotion will host an outdoor event on the South Lawn. The seven-fight lineup is topped by two title fights: Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title and Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje to unify the lightweight titles.

Rogan, who will be on commentary for the event, has expressed his share of concerns in the lead-up to it. One of Rogan’s biggest concerns was having such high-level fights take place outdoors, where weather could affect the outcome of the bouts. There are also worries over bugs and temperatures. White says it’s all fair criticism.

“Joe Rogan is a grown ass man who has his own opinions on different things – and yes, we are really good friends,” White told Forbes. “I don’t call him and say, ‘What are you doing? What are you talking about bugs?’ I’m talking about bugs, too. These are all real things that come into play that night of the fight, and you’re gonna have different people that work for me, not as high-profile as Joe Rogan, who probably have some concerns about a lot of things in doing this event – but we’re gonna do it. To the best of our ability, we’re gonna get it done.”

There was one word that Rogan used that did catch White’s attention. Rogan called the event a “gimmick” on a recent podcast episode. The promotion has gone out of its way to host an event outdoors for just the second time ever, on the White House lawn, on president Donald Trump’s birthday. The event is expected to cost around $60 million and will not turn a profit, according to TKO president Mark Shapiro. Business decisions aside, Rogan’s main concerns were related to the fighters and how things would unfold between the bells.

White did take exception to the “gimmick” label, pointing to the significance of the fights taking place inside the octagon.

“Whatever Joe Rogan’s opinions are – he said something crazy like, ‘It seems like a gimmick,'” White said. “I mean, what does a gimmick mean? It’s a real fight, with real stakes. You got Pereira possibly winning his third world title. If he wins the third world title that night, he jumps over Jon Jones and becomes the greatest of all time. When you talk about a gimmick, there’s absolutely nothing gimmicky about this event. We’re celebrating 250 years of America, we’re gonna have all the representatives of the military there, every fight on that card means something with who wins or loses that night, and you know, like the most historical sporting event in American history. Far from a gimmick.

“… Joe is a grown man, can have his opinions on anything, and you can ask any of my people in those positions. When they say something or give an opinion, they don’t get a phone call from me ever – and the president won’t either. These guys are your friends, but everybody’s entitled to their own opinions.”