Dana White says there were supposed to be women on the UFC Freedom 250 card but it did not work out, offering the first explanation for their notable absence from the June 14 White House event.
White spoke to Time magazine about the card, which features two championship fights in Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje and Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane but no women’s bouts.
“There was supposed to be women on the card. I wanted women on the card. It just didn’t work out that way.”
White also explained the philosophy behind the fighter selections, emphasizing reliability and mental toughness over star power in an unusual environment.
“The only thing I really cared about going into this card was having people I could depend on being on the card, fighters that you know. They’re gonna deal with levels of stress and weird things that they’re not used to. For instance, the night of the fight when they show up, they’re gonna have to go through crazy security. We’re gonna be inside rooms at the White House. They’re used to going to arenas with rooms that are laid out for them and all this. So, you need not only the best fights you could possibly make because they mean something and they matter in our ecosystem. You also need fighters you could trust that are gonna show up and deliver, and mentally and emotionally be able to deal with the different atmosphere they’re gonna be in that night. And that is the card that we built.”
Neither Conor McGregor nor Jon Jones appear on the card despite their repeated attempts to be included.