Justin Gaethje and Ciryl Gane win belts at UFC…
The fighters introduced fireworks to the South Lawn of the White House.
With the long-lasting edifice as a backdrop, Justin Gaethje and Ciryl Gane went home from Washington with championship gold around their waists to close out one-of-a-kind UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday night time. Gaethje surprised beforehand unbeaten Ilia Topuria to unify the light-weight title in a wild main event 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 coming into the cage via the corridors of the landmark. Both Topuria and Gaethje started their respective walkouts from the Oval Office, strolling past the portraits of every U.S. president along the best way.
The main event performed out as a bloody battle, with a rally by the new champion the likes of which Knicks followers had turn into accustomed to throughout 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 ultimate minute, with Topuria gaining steam after the American’s early success.
Topuria’s larger 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 stress 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 got here 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 doctor’s stoppage due to cuts, Topuria discovered a second wind early in the fourth spherical. But Gaethje rapidly turned the tide back in his favor, mixing in his NCAA wrestling pedigree with his typical heavy-hitting placing 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 length of his highlight-rich UFC profession.
“That was absolutely legendary,” Gaethje said.
In the co-main event, Gane discovered first-round success by quantity but didn’t essentially pushing Pereira into the hazard zone of a end. Pereira, meanwhile, was affected person but seemed a number of instances to land a heavy proper head kick.
The hazard got here rapidly 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 trying 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 finally 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 combat during the UFC Freedom 250 event 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 turn into the UFC’s first three-division champion.
The victory units up a potential unification combat 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 compelled Aspinall to endure a number of reparatory procedures for his imaginative and prescient.
The early fights of the night time also have been enjoyable while they lasted, making up for a 20-minute rain delay for the start of the published and lots of prefight handwringing over potential thunderstorms in the world. Only the main event lasted longer than the second spherical.
Ciryl Gane of France strikes Alex Pereira of Brazil in the UFC interim heavyweight championship combat during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn at the White House on June 14, 2026. Zuffa LLC
Sean O’Malley dropped Aiemann Zahabi, the event’s lone Canadian, for a walk-off KO without including follow-up injury. Bo Nickal, a former three-time NCAA champion wrestler at Penn State, gained 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 might 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 chance to suggest his girlfriend, who said yes via a thumbs up.
The preponderance of short but candy motion wasn’t a major shock and was virtually by design for the event set up in celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday this 12 months. 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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