The lineup for the UFC card at the White House was revealed during the UFC 326 broadcast, with six fights announced.
The June 14 event will be promoted as ‘UFC Freedom 250’, airing at 8 p.m. ET, although it was not listed which Paramount properties it will air on.
The card will be headlined by the return of lightweight champion Ilia Topuira to defend against interim title holder Justin Gaethje in a five-round fight.
Topuria won the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317 last June and has not competed since, announcing a hiatus due to personal reasons. Gaethje became the interim champion in his absence by defeating Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 this past January.
Alex Pereira will move up to heavyweight, seeking a championship in a third weight class, when he meets Ciryl Gane. Last week, it was announced that Pereira would be vacating the light heavyweight title as Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg were announced to be fighting for the vacant belt at UFC 327 next month.
Many had suspected Jon Jones could be the opponent for Pereira, and those expectations were heightened when Jones noted he was in negotiations for the White House event over the past week.
Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is out indefinitely due to the damage to his eyes sustained in his fight with Gane last October, and there is no timetable for a return.
Below is the full fight card for June 14:
- UFC Lightweight Championship: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje
- Interim Heavyweight Championship: Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane
- Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi
- Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
- Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
On Friday night, Dana White shared the news that one of the proposed fights fell through yesterday, but he did not specify who it affected.
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