Upcoming UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 will feature a historic, seven-fight card on the South Lawn of the White House. Dana White and Donald Trump organized the event to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. Moreover, this big Saturday night event also celebrates President Trump’s 80th birthday.
The main event features a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, while the co-main event features Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title.
Despite the massive scale of the event, it shocked everyone when White announced no female fighters on the card. The UFC boss addressed it recently in a recent interview and it turns out there was a women’s title fight in the works that never got off the ground.
Dana White Reveals a Female Strawweight Title Bout Fell Through for White House Card
In a recent interview with TIME, White confirmed he planned a strawweight title bout between champion Mackenzie Dern and former champion Zhang Weili for the White House card.
He specifically wanted this matchup because Zhang’s international profile would have broadened the event’s global reach. However, his plan collapsed because Zhang is taking an extended hiatus from competition.
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Last November, Zhang moved up a division and lost a grueling, five-round decision to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322. Since Zhang officially vacated her 115-pound belt to move up in weight, Mackenzie Dern subsequently won the vacant strawweight championship.
This timeline explains why the matchup fell through despite the June event happening seven months after Zhang’s last fight. Following the heartbreaking loss, Zhang refused to commit to a new training camp so soon, making her unavailable to sign a contract for June.
White did not sugarcoat the situation, emphasizing that he could only book fighters who were 100% mentally and physically ready to deal with the unique stresses of the White House venue.
He said, “Yeah, there was supposed to be women on the card. I wanted women on the card. It just didn’t work out that way. You know, when you’re dealing with making fights, you’re dealing with injuries, personal problems, this, that. There are so many different reasons why a fight is made at a certain time instead of another fight.”
He went further explaining why reliability became his non-negotiable for this card in particular, adding, “The only thing I really cared about going into this card was having people that I could depend on being on the card. Fighters that, you know, they’re going to deal with levels of stress and weird things that they’re not used to.
“For instance, when they show up the night of the fight, they’re going to have to go through crazy security. We’re going to be inside rooms in the White House. They’re used to going to arenas where they have rooms that are laid out for them,” the 56-year-old claimed.
The broader picture here is about event management, not gender politics. Staging an outdoor event on the South Lawn of the White House to mark America’s 250th anniversary leaves no margin for late pullouts or last-minute card shuffling.
White wanted reliable fighters who could handle the unusual pressure, but he could not find a dependable women’s matchup in time. Because neither Zhang Weili nor Mackenzie Dern has fought yet in 2026, booking them was too much of a scheduling risk for a strict seven-fight card.
Since he noted plans to meet with Zhang in Macau soon, the Dern vs. Zhang matchup remains a viable option for a future event. But for June 14, the historic White House card will proceed as an entirely male lineup.
