Ahead of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on Sunday, June 14, Cris Cyborg and Miesha Tate criticized the promotion’s seven-fight, all-male lineup—pointing to the UFC’s broader support for women’s MMA even as they acknowledge the situation may be driven by av
Josh Hokit didn’t hold back while training on the National Mall—an influencer asked him to punch him in the stomach, and the workout carried on in plain view of a Washington, DC crowd that came for UFC Freedom 250.
The buzz is now turning to the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, where a seven-fight card will run without a single women’s bout.
For Cris Cyborg, that omission stood out immediately. The former UFC champion and longtime star. who is 40. said the UFC has worked to elevate women’s competition. including through pay and opportunities that compare favorably to other major women’s sports. “The UFC is one of the best at raising the platform for women’s competition,” Cyborg said by text message. “The UFC pays women champions more than highest paid WNBA players and has constantly pushed for an equal opportunity for both men and women to compete.”.
She also argued that the White House event lacks any kind of “undercard” that might otherwise make room for a women’s fight—meaning every bout is essentially in the spotlight. “The White House card doesn’t have one ‘undercard’ on the event. Every fight Sunday could main event another UFC event. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t feature a big women’s fight.”.
Miesha Tate, 39, a retired UFC star and one-time rival of Ronda Rousey, took a softer tone while still addressing the gap. Tate said she doesn’t see the omission as a deliberate slight. “I don’t see it as a slight toward women, just circumstantial,” Tate said by text message.
Part of Cyborg’s argument is connected to who might have been available. She speculated that Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison could have been considered. Nunes is a former UFC champion, and Harrison is the current bantamweight champion. But Cyborg pointed to a key reason the matchup may not have come together: Harrison had neck surgery in January and “has yet to return to the cage.”.
The UFC has offered its own explanation for what it tried to build. Dana White. the UFC CEO. said he attempted to put together a fight between Mackenzie Dern. the reigning strawweight champion. and Zhang Weili. the top contender in that division. White said he was told Weili was off and unavailable to fight.
Taken together, Cyborg’s disappointment and Tate’s framing land on a shared fault line: fans notice the absence in the most visible place possible, while the league points to the practical constraints of scheduling and health.
Tate said she believed those constraints were real, not ideological. “I figure he did,” Tate said by text message.
Rousey—still one of the UFC’s most recognizable names and a key figure in paving the way for other female MMA stars—did not respond to interview requests. Her agent did not reply to interview requests submitted by email.
The sequence of what’s been said is hard to miss: Cyborg emphasizes the UFC’s stated commitment to women’s competition and the unusual nature of a White House show with no women’s fight, while White points to availability issues that blocked specific matchups.
As the event draws closer, the practical details for viewers remain straightforward: UFC Freedom 250 is set for Sunday, June 14, at the White House (South Lawn) with a start time of 8 p.m. ET.
The event will stream on Paramount, free with a subscription that starts at $0.99 per month.
UFC Freedom 250 White House UFC card Cris Cyborg Miesha Tate Ronda Rousey Dana White women in MMA Amanda Nunes Kayla Harrison Mackenzie Dern Zhang Weili Paramount streaming