Donald Trump has gone all-in on a massive fight night to ring in the semiquincentennial of the United States of America.
While critics have argue that something like baseball or basketball would have been a far better choice — since they’re distinctly American sports — it evidently might not matter, because Mother Nature seems to have her own opinions about the affair. This week, the US National Weather Service released a heat advisory for Washington DC, directly threatening the debut of Trump’s beloved UFC arena, currently situated on the White House lawn.
Per the weather alert, the heat index in DC next week could reach as high as 107 degrees Fahrenheit— far more than the average of 85, and well above the standing record of 98.
Fueled by scorching Sun and oppressive humidity, that kind of heat could spell disaster for the prize fight. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Heat Index Chart, sunstroke, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion are “likely” under those conditions, while heat stroke is possible with prolonged exposure or physical activity — exactly what happens when two fighters are slugging it out.
It’s an alarming possibility, but not altogether surprising given that we just logged the second-hottest May in recorded history, as Yale Climate Connections reported.
As Forbes notes, the UFC very rarely fights outside for this very reason. The only outdoor UFC match on record happened in Abu Dhabi in 2010, where the average temperature at the time was 108 degrees Fahrenheit. (Though it went without major incident, UFC CEO Dana White later complained about the wind, humidity, heat, and bugs — all fixtures of a DC summer.)
Even Joe Rogan, the podcast host and UFC color commentator who’s emerged as a major Trump booster in recent years, isn’t thrilled. Though Rogan is set to call the fight, he told his fans on Wednesday that “I don’t like the idea of fighting outside at all.” Coming from a guy who once enthusiastically embraced an all-meat diet, that’s saying something.
Whether the heat will be enough to force White and Trump to postpone the semiquincentennial bout seems unlikely. But with the planet running a fever and less than half of UFC fans on board, this one promises to be a spectacle fit for Trump’s second term — not to mention the country’s 250th birthday.
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