Dana White sat down with Adin Ross on April 9, 2026, and addressed one of the biggest talking points in the UFC right now, which is the failed Islam Makhachev versus Ilia Topuria fight that was supposed to headline the UFC White House card. Makhachev had been going after Topuria on X, claiming that Topuria priced himself out of the fight, and that is what led to the whole thing falling apart, but White was not having any of it.
When Adin showed him the X post, White shut it down immediately and said, “That’s not true,” and that was all he needed to say. Topuria had been catching heat from the MMA community for weeks, with fans accusing him of ducking the fight, and now the UFC President himself has gone on record and cleared his name, which puts the whole narrative back on Makhachev’s side of the table.
Dana White Says Makhachev’s Claims About Topuria Are “Not True”
The whole situation started when Islam Makhachev took to X and claimed that he had accepted the fight, but Topuria’s team demanded a payout that the UFC was not willing to meet, and that is what killed the matchup.
It was a very public callout, and it put Topuria in a bad spot because the MMA fanbase ran with it and started saying Topuria was scared to take the fight. But when Adin Ross brought the tweet up on stream, Dana did not hesitate at all and just said, “That’s not true, not true,” and that was that.
White explained that the matchmakers did look at Makhachev versus Topuria as a possible fight, but the decision to go in a different direction was not because of one fighter asking for too much money. He said, “I built the card and decided who was going to fight,” and that what mattered most to him was that the fights had to mean something, but more importantly, he needed to know who he could count on and who was actually going to show up.
And that is what it really comes down to because Dana has been burned before by fighters pulling out of big cards, and for something as massive as the White House event, he was not willing to take that risk with anyone he was not completely sure about.
The UFC White House Card Is Set For June 14, And Dana White Says Only Lightning Can Stop The Event
On top of the Makhachev and Topuria stuff, Dana also talked about the White House card itself and how the UFC has never done anything like this before. The event is taking place on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, and the UFC is building an entire structure around and over the octagon to deal with the weather because Dana has always hated the idea of doing events outdoors.
He said, “If it snows, we’re fighting,” and that the only thing that could actually delay the fights is lightning because they would have to wait that out before continuing.
The production for this event is so big that the UFC team starts loading in during May, which is a full month before the card even happens, and that is not something they have ever had to do for any other event.
White also confirmed that fighters are going to walk out toward the octagon from near the Oval Office, and 85000 free tickets are being handed out for a viewing party at The Ellipse, while the actual lawn seating is reserved for military personnel.
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Dana said “this is why I don’t like doing things outside” and listed off rain and heavy winds and bugs and all the stuff that comes with outdoor events but he does not care because for this one he is willing to deal with every single one of those problems and he made it very clear that they are going no matter what happens with the weather.
