The fighters introduced fireworks to the South Lawn of the White House.
With the iconic edifice as a backdrop, Justin Gaethje and Ciryl Gane went home from Washington with championship gold around their waists to shut out one-of-a-kind UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday evening. Gaethje surprised beforehand unbeaten Ilia Topuria to unify the light-weight title in a wild primary occasion as Topuria’s nook threw in the proverbial towel following the fourth spherical, following Gane’s second-round victory over Alex Pereira to seize the vacant interim heavyweight belt.
The pair of bombastic endings to the title fights capped an all-knockout affair in the nation’s capital, with the president’s residence as a backdrop and the athletes getting into the cage via the corridors of the landmark. Both Topuria and Gaethje started their respective walkouts from the Oval Office, strolling previous the portraits of every U.S. president alongside the method.
The primary occasion performed out as a bloody struggle, with a rally by the new champion the likes of which Knicks followers had become accustomed to all through their march to the NBA title.
“I’m from America; 250 years ago, we were way bigger than 6-to-1 ’dogs, and look at us thriving now,” Gaethje said in the cage afterward.
A stinging straight proper was Topuria’s most efficient weapon early, though Gaethje bloodied his foe’s proper eyebrow in a aggressive opening spherical. Fists flew furiously from both males over the closing minute, with Topuria gaining steam after the American’s early success.
Topuria’s higher focus on physique punches made a distinction by the halfway level of the second, ripping to the liver and weathering a bloodied nostril to put the strain on Gaethje. A liver shot dropped Topuria, permitting Topuria to mount and practically promote out for an armbar submission on two events in a dominant spherical.
But Topuria slowed significantly in the third, as Gaethje scored with the jab to claw back into it. Then came the fight-changing overhand proper hand that dropped Topuria, leaving him a bloody mess as he survived Gaethje fishing for a choke.
Justin Gaethje of the United States shakes the hand of US President Donald Trump after defeating Ilia Topuria of Georgia in the UFC Lightweight Championship bout during UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on June 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. Getty Images
After narrowly avoiding a physician’s stoppage due to cuts, Topuria discovered a second wind early in the fourth spherical. But Gaethje shortly turned the tide back in his favor, mixing in his NCAA wrestling pedigree with his typical heavy-hitting hanging arsenal. The American again battered him, leaving lumps and crimson littered across the Georgian-Armenian’s face.
At that level, Topuria’s nook decided their fighter had absorbed enough injury, giving Gaethje the undisputed championship that had eluded the son of Arizona miners for the period of his highlight-rich UFC profession.
“That was absolutely legendary,” Gaethje said.
In the co-main occasion, Gane discovered first-round success by quantity but did not essentially pushing Pereira into the hazard zone of a end. Pereira, meanwhile, was affected person but seemed several instances to land a heavy proper head kick.
The hazard came shortly in the second spherical, with Gane dropping him in the first minute with a stiff jab as his opponent stepped in that had Pereira desperately wanting to survive the follow-up flurry from the Frenchman — though many strikes appeared to land in the unlawful space at the back of the Brazilian’s head.
Pereira lastly regained his toes but never seemed proper as Gane rattled him again, forcing the referee to intervene for a standing stoppage as the Brazilian wobbled into the fence. The victory made Gane a two-time interim champion, though an undisputed title still eludes him.
Ciryl Gane of France reacts to his win in the UFC interim heavyweight championship struggle during the UFC Freedom 250 occasion on the South Lawn at the White House on June 14, 2026. Zuffa LLC
“I’m moving well, I’m really technical, but the people underestimate me,” Gane said in the Octagon after denying Pereira’s bid to become the UFC’s first three-division champion.
The victory units up a potential unification struggle against Tom Aspinall, the champion who has not competed since he and Gane fought to a no-contest due to Gane delivering a damaging double eye poke that has pressured Aspinall to endure a number of reparatory procedures for his imaginative and prescient.
The early fights of the evening also were enjoyable while they lasted, making up for a 20-minute rain delay for the begin of the broadcast and a lot of prefight handwringing over potential thunderstorms in the space. Only the primary occasion lasted longer than the second spherical.
Ciryl Gane of France strikes Alex Pereira of Brazil in the UFC interim heavyweight championship struggle during the UFC Freedom 250 occasion on the South Lawn at the White House on June 14, 2026. Zuffa LLC
Sean O’Malley dropped Aiemann Zahabi, the occasion’s lone Canadian, for a walk-off KO with out including follow-up injury. Bo Nickal, a former three-time NCAA champion wrestler at Penn State, won the Battle for Pennsylvania on Pennsylvania Avenue with a end of Philadelphia native Kyle Daukaus. Josh Hokit battered Derrick Lewis before the 41-year-old could maintain no more of the onslaught in the other USA vs. USA conflict.
Brazilians Mauricio Ruffy and Diego Lopes earned emphatic finishes against American opponents Michael Chandler and Steve Garcia, respectively. Ruffy used the alternative to suggest his girlfriend, who said sure via a thumbs up.
The preponderance of brief but candy motion wasn’t a main shock and was virtually by design for the occasion set up in celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday this yr. Five of the seven bouts featured massively favored fighters in contrast to just two — Pereira-Gane and Lopes-Garcia – that hovered close to or at pick-’em odds.
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