The UFC has finally announced their plans for “UFC Freedom 250,” scheduled to be held on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, June 14, 2026. The event will mark the first time a major professional sports league has hosted a live competition on the White House grounds, highlighting both the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 80th birthday of former President Donald Trump.
The full fight card for Freedom 250:
Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje for the UFC Lightweight Championship
Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi, Bantamweight bout
Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler, Lightweight bout
Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus, Middleweight bout
Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia, Featherweight bout
UFC’s X account made it official:
THE OFFICIAL BOUT LIST FOR #UFCWhiteHouse
— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2026
[ LIVE Sunday June 14 on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/06d09Tm0jZ
The main event will be a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje. Alex Pereira meets Ciryl Gane in the co-main event for the interim heavyweight championship. Four further bouts complete the card.
The show carries a reported production budget north of $60 million, surpassing the $21 million spent on UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas in 2024. Venue capacity on the South Lawn is capped at roughly 3,000 to 4,000 guests due to security requirements, but giant screens at the nearby Ellipse are expected to accommodate up to 85,000 members of the public free of charge. The event will also air live on CBS and Paramount+.
Dana White confirmed in the lead-up to the announcement that one fight fell apart at the last minute, with matchmakers Mick Maynard and Hunter Campbell working to fill the spot.
Topuria arrives at Freedom 250 on one of the most dominant finishing runs in recent UFC history. The Georgian-born Spaniard knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win the featherweight title, defended it by stopping Max Holloway, then moved up to lightweight and knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round to capture the 155-pound belt. Three consecutive first-round knockouts of three former UFC champions. He has not lost inside the octagon.
Gaethje, now 37, is a two-time interim lightweight champion. He claimed his most recent interim title by defeating Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January and has been direct about how he expects the fight to play out. “One of us will probably get knocked out,” Gaethje said ahead of the announcement.
He is not wrong to think so. Gaethje’s forward pressure and punch output have produced some of the most memorable bouts in lightweight history, and Topuria has not yet shown a fighter who can withstand his timing and power. A clean exchange between them, which is likely at some point in this fight, will carry serious consequences for whoever is on the wrong end of it. The undisputed lightweight title is on the line, and whoever walks out with it will have a strong claim as the best fighter in the world at 155 pounds.
The co-main event answers a question the heavyweight division has been sitting with since Pereira began hinting at a move to 265 pounds. Pereira already holds UFC titles from middleweight and light heavyweight, the latter of which he has won twice. A victory over Gane would make him a three-division champion.
Gane is a measured opponent for that challenge. The Frenchman is a former interim heavyweight champion with some of the best footwork and jab in the weight class. He has the movement to avoid Pereira’s power in the early rounds and the discipline to stick to a game plan. But the concern for Gane, as it is for anyone facing Pereira, is that a single mistake can end the night immediately.
It is worth noting that this is for the interim heavyweight title, which leaves open questions about where the undisputed picture stands with Tom Aspinall as the current undisputed belt holder, currently out of action due to an eye injury from his last fight with Gane. A win by either man at Freedom 250 sets up a future championship conversation, though that conversation will depend on developments elsewhere in the division.
Sean O’Malley returns to the card in a bantamweight bout against Aiemann Zahabi. O’Malley is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion and one of the more recognizable fighters on the roster. Zahabi, brother of renowned trainer Firas Zahabi, is a technically sound opponent who has shown the ability to compete against experienced competition. For O’Malley, a performance here keeps him in the title picture at 135 pounds. For Zahabi, the White House stage is the biggest of his career.
At lightweight, Mauricio Ruffy faces Michael Chandler in a fight that carries weight for both men. Ruffy has shown finishing ability in his UFC run and is climbing the division. Chandler, a former Bellator champion and multiple-time UFC title challenger, has never lacked for heart or forward pressure, and fighting in front of an American audience at a patriotic event is a setting that suits him. A win for Ruffy against a name like Chandler would accelerate his standing at 155. A win for Chandler keeps him relevant in a division conversation he has been part of for years.
Bo Nickal takes on Kyle Daukaus at middleweight. Nickal, a three-time NCAA wrestling champion, has put together an unbeaten UFC record and drawn attention for how quickly he has developed as a complete fighter. Daukaus is durable and brings credible wrestling of his own, making this a legitimate step up from what Nickal has faced previously. Nickal’s ceiling at middleweight remains uncertain until he faces fighters who can test him across multiple rounds and disciplines. Daukaus has the tools to at least stress-test parts of that.
The card opens with a featherweight bout between Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia. Lopes has worked his way into the featherweight conversation with a string of finishes against ranked opponents. Garcia is an aggressive fighter who tends to make bouts uncomfortable for more polished opponents. With the featherweight title picture unsettled following Topuria’s move to lightweight, a strong showing by Lopes could position him as a genuine contender at 145 pounds.
Weigh-ins are expected to be held at the Lincoln Memorial. As the White House grounds fall under federal jurisdiction, the event will operate outside the normal oversight of the D.C. Combat Sports Commission and will be self-regulated by the UFC.
