Joe Rogan Has Changed His Opinion On UFC Fights At White House

Joe Rogan can't seem to make up his mind on the UFC's upcoming trip to the nation's capital.

There'll be a UFC Fight Night at the White House on June 14. Those who attend "UFC Freedom 250" will get to see Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria square off in the main event. This loaded card will also include a fight between Alex Pereira and Circyl Gane.

During last week's episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," the polarizing UFC analyst didn't sound too thrilled about the MMA promotion hosting an outdoor event.

"The White House thing is odd. I don't like it. I don't like the idea of fighting outside at all. It's June and it's D.C. and we looked it up, the last time, like last year, same day, was 100 degrees. That's hot as f---. You add the lights. How about dehydration. The bugs are a big one. How are they going to f----ng do anything about the bugs because I know that Dana was talking about that recently, they were talking about maybe using fans. Is that enough? Got bug strips everywhere? What are you going to do? How are you going to stop the bugs, there's a lot of bugs," Rogan said, via Awful Announcing.

"I just don't think that you should compete in a world championship fight in a non-controlled environment. I think it should be inside an air conditioned arena. It should be a controlled environment. You wouldn't ask them to play a world championship basketball game outside in the sun. That would be crazy. You play in a f-ing air conditioned arena. That's how it should be," Rogan argued. "Build a f----ng roof. Build a roof. You've got all the money in the world."

One week later, Rogan declared there's nothing more American than having a UFC Fight Night on the South Lawn of the White House.

"It's so funny watching people lose their mind[s] over it, you know, in all sorts of different ways," Rogan said. "I mean, there's no more American thing than having a UFC fight on the White House lawn. It's so America. It's so Trump. It's so crazy. You know what I mean? A UFC fight on the White House lawn is bananas."

The White House's UFC arena might be here to stay.

According to ABC News, the UFC arena that was built on the South Lawn might become a permanent addition to the White House.

"People don't know that in Paris, France, the Eiffel Tower, 1889 it was built," President Trump said. "It was supposed to be taken down immediately after the world's fair, and then they said: ‘leave it up a little bit longer, and then they said, ‘let's leave it up longer and longer and longer.' Well, they never took it down, and you know we're building something in front of the White House that's quite attractive to a lot of people. Really, it's going to have the big UFC fight on June 14, and I'm looking at it and maybe we'll never ever take it down."

First things first, UFC has to see if its White House event is a success or a misfire.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 8:41 AM.