Ever since Dana White announced the historic UFC White House event, fans from both the public and the roster have criticized the choice of matchups. The card will feature six blockbuster fights, including stars like Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira. However, many fans had hoped to see Jon Jones and Conor McGregor return, and unfortunately, their absence has dampened overall excitement. Still, amid the criticism, President Donald Trump recently grabbed attention by hinting that the promotion might make changes to the fight card.

In a recent interview with Jake Paul, Donald Trump sat down with the YouTuber-turned-boxer for approximately 27 minutes. They discussed serious topics, including the ongoing war with Iran and immigration policies. Then, their conversation turned to sports, focusing on the Freedom 250 card, during which Trump hinted that the promotion might add a few more fights to the UFC White House event.

“Dana’s a good guy, the best. I mean, there’s nobody like him,” said Donald Trump, “He had the idea of staging it right at the front door of the White House. We’ll be right in the front door, and he’s got a tremendous card. I don’t even know if it’s fully filled out yet, but I just saw it, and it looks like it’s going to be all top guys. They all want to fight at the White House.

So it’s going to be in honor of the 250th year. It’ll be great. No, I’m excited. I’m excited to see Sean O’Malley, he’s at home—he’s a great, great, great fighter.”

Last December, Donald Trump suggested that the UFC would feature “8-9” title fights at the White House event. However, the UFC later announced only two title fights out of six bouts. So, the recent statements hint at some changes coming to the match card. Given the close relationship between Donald Trump and Dana White, they could make changes if Trump wants, since the UFC planned this White House event as Trump’s 80th birthday gift.

While Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira’s fights are the top two bouts, the upcoming event will also feature matchups like Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi in the bantamweight division. Mauricio “Ruffy” will challenge veteran Michael Chandler in the lightweight bout. Meanwhile, in the middleweight division, Bo Nickal will feature on the South Lawn against Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia will open the night as the first fight.

However, hardcore Trump supporter Colby Covington failed to secure a spot on the card, which surprised many, as he had promoted himself as the main event even before the White House card announcement. For many years, Colby Covington has used his polarizing persona to push Trump’s MAGA agenda.

Then, once the promotion finally released the card, Covington immediately expressed frustration with the UFC, specifically targeting CEO and matchmaker Hunter Campbell, who, according to Covington, had repeatedly assured him. Ultimately, the promotion snubbed Covington, leaving his UFC future uncertain. However, more recently, collegiate wrestler and rising middleweight star Bo Nickal stepped in to support Covington’s case for inclusion on the White House card.

Bo Nickal urges UFC and Hunter Campbell to revise the White House fight card

“I said I’d fight anybody just to get the opportunity to fight in front of my hero, Donald Trump,” said heavyweight star Colby Covington, venting his frustration at not getting a chance to fight on the card in front of his idol. At first, Covington assumed he would secure a spot in the upcoming event. According to him, the promotion had promised him a fight against the winner of the Mike Malott vs. Gilbert Burns match.

On top of that, Covington also revealed that he had offered to move up to middleweight if needed. However, the promotion snubbed him after seeing Covington rant on social media. After that, Bo Nickal stepped in and offered Covington a chance to fight at the White House event via social media.

“@ColbyCovMMA Colby, I haven’t signed a contract yet,” wrote Bo Nickal on X. “We can still make this happen. In all honesty, I do think you deserve to be on the White House card. If you want to fight, we can both call Hunter together and make it happen.”

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So far, the UFC has stayed silent, but it will be interesting to see whether Hunter Campbell and the other UFC matchmakers eventually accept Bo Nickal’s plea, as, after all, Nickal also holds importance on Donald Trump’s White House fight card. Share your thoughts below.