In what is being touted as the biggest mixed martial arts bout of 2026, Ilya Topuria will take on Justin Gaethje in the main event for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Championship on June 14 in Washington, D.C.
The blockbuster bout in the 155-pound (70 kg) division will headline the UFC Freedom 250 event, which will be held outdoors on the White House lawn and is expected to be attended by US President Donald Trump and other celebrities.
The undefeated Topuria will vacate the lightweight title at the end of 2025 for personal reasons and will start as a possible opponent to face interim belt holder Gaethje, although he is currently the challenger.
Here’s what you need to know before you fight.
Why is a UFC event held at the White House?
The UFC event is planned as part of the Freedom 250 Celebration hosted by President Trump’s White House and will be held in parallel with the America 250 series of bipartisan Congress-funded events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, dating back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The Freedom 250 celebration recently made headlines for the majority of its musicians withdrawing from a series of scheduled concerts, with many citing concerns about the event’s political affiliation, confusion with the America 250 celebration and the content of their applications.
UFC 250 will be held to coincide with President Trump’s 80th birthday on June 14th. President Trump has had a long association with the UFC for more than 20 years.
When and where will UFC Freedom 250 be held?
UFC 250 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 14th on the South Lawn of the White House, located in the heart of the US capital. This exclusive pop-up venue will be open by invitation only and will have an estimated capacity of 4,300 to 5,000 people. Of those seats, 1,200 seats will be reserved for active military personnel, and the rest will be distributed to the UFC, TKO Group and the White House. Organizers say tens of thousands of free tickets will be given to general fans at the nearby 52-acre Ellipse Park. The main card is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 8pm ET (midnight GMT on Monday). The pre-game card begins at 4pm ET (8pm GMT on Sunday). The Topuria vs. Gaethje ring walk will take place at approximately 9:30 pm ET (1:30 pm ET on Monday), with the headline match beginning shortly thereafter.
Main card lineup:
Lightweight title match: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje Interim heavyweight title match: Alex Pereira vs. Cyril Gane Bantamweight match: Sean O’Malley vs. Ayeman Zahavi Heavyweight match: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis Lightweight match: Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler Middleweight match: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus Featherweight match: Diego Lopez vs. steve garcia
Why did Ilia Topria vacate the lightweight title?
In December, Topria, a UFC lightweight titleholder, left the sport to fight what he called an “attempted extortion attempt.”
The Georgian fighter’s sports leave put the division on hold, leading to an interim lightweight title fight between Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324.
By the time Topuria faces Gaethje, he will have been out of the Octagon for nearly a full year — he last fought on June 28 at UFC 317, knocking out Charles Oliveira — and is still ranked by ESPN as the No. 2 best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.
What happened in the fight between Gaethje and Pimblett?
Gaethje handed rising star Pimblett his first loss in the UFC on January 24 in Las Vegas, winning the interim title by unanimous decision.
The American’s victory earned him the interim lightweight title for the second time in his career and set up a unified title fight with Topuria.
Gaethje mostly controlled a thrilling slugfest, landing 56 percent of his key strikes and converting all three takedown attempts. The judges’ scorecards gave him a lead of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
“Coming here, (Pimblett) can’t have that mentality,” Gaethje said. “He has to accept the worst possible outcome. That’s how you perform at your best when the pressure is the most. I learned that early on. I knew this was going to happen because it’s such a crazy sport.”
Which celebrities are expected to attend UFC 250?
UFC director Dana White has revealed the star-studded guest list for the White House event, which includes Hollywood actors Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Adam Sandler, Jason Statham and National Football League legend Tom Brady.
At this stage, it is unclear which celebrities will be participating in the event.
Why won’t Pria fight Islam Makhachev in the White House?
Makhachev vs. Topria at the White House would have arguably been one of the biggest draws in UFC history.
Despite early rumors that a match would take place, the two sides failed to come to a financial agreement, with each side blaming the other.
The Makhachev-Topuria superfight could soon be held at a venue bigger than the White House, such as the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It is unclear whether the upcoming match between Makhachev and Topria will take place in Russia’s current weight class, lightweight or welterweight.
What will be at stake in the Pereira vs. Gane title showdown?
In addition to the matchup between Topuria and Gaethje, there will be a highly anticipated second bout between UFC superstars Alex Pereira and Cyril Gane, who will trade blows for the interim heavyweight title in their penultimate fight.
Pereira (13-3) is a two-division UFC champion (middleweight and light heavyweight) and is seeking to become the UFC’s first three-division champion.
“If he (Pereira) wins his third world title that night, he will leapfrog Jon Jones and become the greatest of all time,” UFC CEO Dana White told Forbes in a recent interview.
Gane (13-2), a native of France, is a serious threat to Pereira, with striking power and technique unmatched in the heavyweight division. The 36-year-old is a former interim UFC heavyweight champion.
How can Topria win?
Topria’s overall technical fighting ability and boxing ability are legendary, so Gaethje should be wary of exchanging blows with the powerful Georgian in the Octagon.
In 2024, Topuria, also known as “El Matador,” cemented his dominance in the stacked featherweight division with sensational KOs of two former great UFC champions, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.
Moving up to lightweight in 2025, Topuria won the title with an impressive first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. The extra weight in the heavyweight division allowed Topuria to demonstrate ferocious technical punching ability as well as a strength advantage over his opponent.
“Skill upon skill, he might be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world…all his opponents stood up straight and they all fell down,” mixed martial arts commentator Alain Jouban said on ESPN last year.
How can Gaethje win?
Dubbed a “highlight,” Gaethje is not expected to engage in a boxing duel with Topuria in the center of the ring. Instead, the American will play to his strengths and deploy powerful leg kicks to keep his undefeated opponent off balance and disrupt his punching rhythm.
Additionally, Gaethje is expected to grapple with Topuria frequently, putting himself in positions where he can utilize a deadly clinch game and tire his opponent with so-called “dirty boxing,” where the two combatants can dish out elbows, knees, and even kicks while fighting together.
Gaethje has a height (1.8m vs. 1.7m) and reach (1.78m vs. 1.75m) advantage, but El Matador, known for his strength at featherweight, will likely have a power advantage against the 37-year-old.
Topuria statistics:
Topria has a perfect record in the UFC with a 17-0 record.
His last fight was against Oliveira at UFC 317 on June 28, 2025.
Age: 29 Height: 5′ 7″ (1.7 m) Weight: 155 lbs (70 kg) Reach: 69″ (1.75 m) Total Record: 17 Record: 17-0-0
Gaethje statistics:
Gaethje has a professional MMA record of 27-5, including a 9-5 record in the UFC dating back to December 2, 2017.
He has won four of his past five fights in the UFC, with his last loss coming by TKO to Max Holloway at UFC 300 in Las Vegas on April 14, 2024.
Age: 37 Height: 5′ 11″ (1.8 m) Weight: 155 lbs (70 kg) Reach: 70″ (1.78 m) Total Record: 32 Record: 27 wins, 5 losses, 0
Topria, what does Gaethje say about this fight?
Topuria:
“Listen, when you compare my skills to his (Gaethje’s) skills, I feel like I’m much better than him,” Topuria said in a UFC interview on Paramount+. “I knew I would have to defend the belt against him at some point because he became interim world champion, but I don’t know. I think his chances are next to zero, but that’s my understanding.”
“Every fighter is different. They bring different styles inside the Octagon. I’ve never faced anyone like Justin (Gaethje). He’s a legendary fighter. As a fan, I like him. All of his matches are so entertaining that I always like to watch them,” Topuria added. “Yeah, but if you’re talking about fighting him like I did, then yeah. Like I said before, I don’t think he has a chance.”
Gaethje:
“That guy (Topuria) is all a gimmick. He calls himself a king. He thinks he’s a god,” Gaethje told FOX Sports.
“Yes, you see, I was once young and foolish, too,” he said. “And to this day, that’s been a plus for him. People see the way he talks and believe it, because he believes it, which is really great. But it was similar with Paddy Pimblett. He was full of himself. And approaching life that way can be very harmful, thinking you’re better than everyone else.”
In a recent interview with UFC on Paramount+, Gaethje said he won’t back down against the hard-punching Topuria.
“It’s position,” Gaethje said. “They (Topuria’s recent opponents) compromised. They were put on the back foot. His second shot put them on the heel when he was in the middle of a five-punch combination. That’s something I can’t do. I’m going to take this fight forward…and if it puts me in an even more dangerous position, I still have to do it. This is how I’m going to fight this fight.”
How to watch
Topuria vs Gaethje is available to watch on Paramount+ in the US. The fight will also be streamed internationally on UFC Fight Pass, which is available in many countries. Starzplay will stream the match in 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Al Jazeera Sports will provide live text and photo commentary for UFC 250 on Sunday from 6pm (10pm GMT).
