Dana White Reacts to Rumors of Massive Fight for UFC White House Card

After the UFC White House card was announced over the weekend, many began to speculate about a major fight that didn't make it to the final lineup.

During UFC 326 on Saturday, the company announced that the Freedom 250 event on June 14 will be headlined by a lightweight title unification fight between champion Ilia Topuria and interim champ Justin Gaethje. Rumors quickly began to swirl that Topuria was supposed to face welterweight titleholder Islam Makhachev in a highly anticipated champ vs. champ matchup.

However, during the Zuffa Boxing 4 post-fight press conference on Sunday, UFC president Dana White emphatically denied that a fight between Topuria and Makhachev was in the works.

"That's not true," White said about Makhachev vs. Topuria, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "That is true [Justin Gaethje wasn't originally on the card]. It was never Islam versus Topuria. Don't worry about what fights are being made. We announced which ones are made and which ones will be happening. I told you there were some weird circumstances.

"The reason that fight fell out and it wasn't up on stage with Mick [Maynard], Hunter [Campbell] and Sean [Shelby], it was at Power Slap that the fight fell apart that night and all the boys went back to the office and were there until literally 9 in the morning and that's how Gaethje ended up on the card. Topuria wasn't originally supposed to be on the card either. So he got the call, too."

White was referring to a video that appeared to show the UFC matchmakers receiving the news that a major fight for the White House card wouldn't be able to happen, as he had confirmed during Friday's Power Slap event that an important matchup fell through at the 11th hour.

White went on to add that Makhachev, who is currently observing Ramadan, is dealing with an injury that would've made him unavailable for the White House card.

"He's got some hand issues," White said. "I know that. I don't know how serious the hand issues are or how long that will keep him out but he's injured."

White's revelation will likely only cause fans to speculate further about the massive fight that was in the works for this summer's marquee event.