Dana White Reveals Gnat Problem Threatening UFC’s White House Card as Conor McGregor Return Looms
The UFC’s biggest event of 2026 might be threatened by bugs. Dana White admitted this week that the lighting rig planned for the White House card on June 14 is attracting gnats and other insects, and the production team has not solved the problem yet.
“There’s a gnat problem at the White House,” White said during a recent media appearance. The lighting grid used to spotlight the octagon could also attract moths and other winged insects that fighters would have to deal with mid-fight. That is the kind of production headache nobody anticipated when this card was first announced.
The event itself is shaping up to be one of the most-watched MMA cards in history regardless of the bug situation. It is being held on President Donald Trump’s birthday, June 14, on the South Lawn of the White House. The main event features lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, whose family fled Georgia as refugees and who now headlines a championship card on the most famous lawn in America.
The rest of the card is loaded too. Multiple title fights. Multiple stars. Most importantly, it might be the platform for Conor McGregor’s long-rumored return to the octagon. White confirmed this week that he is “confident McGregor will make his return to fighting in the very near future.”
The McGregor return talk has been going on for almost three years. Every six months a new rumor surfaces. Every six months it falls apart. This one feels different because of the White House timing and because McGregor himself has been more visible recently, posting workout videos and making the rounds on podcasts. The setup is there. The only question is whether the actual fight happens.
The most likely matchup is McGregor vs. Max Holloway in a rematch of their 2013 fight. Holloway has become a Hall of Fame-level fighter since that first meeting. The UFC has been reportedly planning the rematch as the headlining bout for UFC 329, which would land in the late summer or fall window after the White House card.
That timing makes sense for the storytelling. White House card in June with Topuria as the main event. UFC 329 in the fall with McGregor returning against Holloway. Both events generate massive pay-per-view numbers. Both push the UFC’s narrative as the premier combat sports promotion entering the second half of the decade.
Tito Ortiz has not been quiet about all this. The former UFC light heavyweight champion ripped White as “petty” for not including him on the White House card. “I’ve done so much for that company,” Ortiz said. He is 51 years old. The complaint reads like the kind of personal grievance that an aging fighter takes against the promoter who built the company on his back two decades ago.
White’s recent answer to Ortiz was direct. The White House card is for current top fighters. It is not a legends event. Ortiz is welcome to attend. He is not welcome to fight. That kind of public exchange between White and a Hall of Famer is exactly the kind of drama that adds another layer of attention to a card that already has enough.
UFC 328 was the most recent main card, and it featured Sean Strickland reclaiming the middleweight title by beating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision. White scored the fight 2-2 going into the fifth round and gave Strickland the final stanza. The result was controversial, the kind that creates the demand for a rematch. Chimaev is going to get one.
The next UFC stop before the White House card is the May card in Macau, where Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo headline a bantamweight bout. That fight is a chance for both veterans to get back into the title picture. Either way, the buildup to June 14 is going to overshadow most of what happens in the next four weeks.
The White House card is the biggest UFC production ever attempted. The political angle is divisive. The fight card is loaded. The gnats are real. The bugs cannot keep MMA’s most ambitious show from happening, but they are going to be part of the story whether White wants them to be or not.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
