Popular MMA Reporter Suggests UFC Had Bigger Plans for White House Card Before Justin Gaethje Twist

The recently revealed UFC White House fight card has already sparked plenty of discussion among fans, but one popular MMA reporter believes the promotion originally had far bigger plans in mind. According to MMA analyst and reporter MMA Joey, the promotion may have initially targeted blockbuster matchups involving some of the biggest names in the sport before the final lineup came together.

The speculation surfaced after reports regarding Justin Gaethje’s confusing situation surrounding the event. Gaethje had previously revealed that he was informed he would not be fighting on the special White House card. However he later told that he might actually be included after all. The abrupt shift in communication immediately raised eyebrows within the MMA community and led to various theories about what might have happened behind the scenes.

MMA Joey weighed in on the situation on social media. He suggested that the UFC could have been working toward two major fights that would have made the event even bigger. According to him, the promotion may have originally hoped to secure Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira and Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria for the historic card.

“I honestly believe the UFC wanted both Jones vs Pereira & Islam vs Topuria on the UFC White House card,” MMA Joey wrote. “That’s why Dana was hyping it so much & that’s why they told Gaethje he wasn’t going to be on the card only to 180 a day later.”