UFC President Dana White has dismissed speculative theories that secret military technology was employed to steer away a storm that had threatened the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House.
The event took place on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, with President Donald Trump in attendance. For a significant portion of the evening, inclement weather loomed over Washington D.C., but the storms ultimately bypassed the event site.
The unusual weather pattern has fueled conspiracy theories online, particularly on platforms like Reddit. Some users suggested that given the event's high-profile location and its connection to the America 250 celebrations, undisclosed military tactics might have been deployed to ensure favorable weather.
When confronted with the idea that military technology might have been used to alter the storm's course, White responded humorously, telling TMZ, "Of course they do."
He attributed the origin of such theories to individuals like his friend Skipper Kelp, who handles scoring for Zuffa Boxing and is described by White as an extreme conspiracy theorist. "Every night when we go to dinner I have to listen to this crazy s*** that he comes up with, so I'm sure Skip probably believes that we used some secret military stuff to break up the storm," White said.
"I can promise you that did not happen," White insisted. "We thought it was hitting us. The president thought it was hitting us. We weren't using like the Channel 4 weather guy, right? We had military meteorologists all over this thing and this [meteorologist] was telling us we're going to get hit."
White acknowledged that he understands how such theories can begin. "I get how these things happen and how they start, right? There was absolutely no military, you know, right? We thought we were getting hit."
The UFC Freedom 250 featured championship bouts, including Justin Gaethje's victory over Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title and Ciryl Gane's knockout of Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight championship.
White described the event as the highlight of his tenure leading UFC. "There's no doubt about it," he stated. "It was such an incredible night, and the way that the story played out with the storm breaking and going around the White House. Obviously my relationship with the President.., the amount of people that showed up, the highlights from the thing, America's 250th birthday. Nothing's going to beat that."
