Mar 09, 2026
3 min read
A lightweight title fight between Ilya Topuria and Justin Gaethje will headline the UFC at the White House on June 14, while Alex Pereira and Cyril Hein will compete for the interim heavyweight title.
The UFC's much-anticipated White House appearance will be addressed by two title contenders, news announced Saturday night.
A lightweight title fight between undisputed champion Ilia Topuria and interim titleholder Justin Gaethje will be the main event, while two-time UFC heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will be looking for an unprecedented third belt when he takes on Cyril Gane for the interim heavyweight championship in the division's main event.
UFC officials announced the fights during the UFC 326 telecast. The White House event, dubbed UFC Freedom Fights 250 by the promotion, is set to take place on June 14, which coincides with President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.The event is also designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
Four more fights will round out the White House event: a bantamweight fight between Sean O'Malley and Aiemann Zahabi, a lightweight fight between Mauricio Ruffy and Michael Chandler, a middleweight fight between Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus, and a featherweight fight between Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia.
Topuria (17-0), a 29-year-old from Spain, is a two-weight champion and widely regarded as one of the most dangerous knockout artists in the sport.
At the end of 2025, Topuria announced that he would take some time off to resolve personal issues.With those matters behind him, he is ready for his first title defense and a future move to welterweight.
The 37-year-old Gaethje (27-5) will try to make the most of his third chance at a UFC title shot. He competed for the belt in 2020 and 2022, but failed to defeat all-time greats Khabib Nurmagomedov and Oliveira. In January, in Topria's absence, he won the interim title with a unanimous decision victory over Paddy Pimblett in Las Vegas.
A two-time champion and 18-year veteran of the sport, Gaethje lives and trains in Denver, but was born and raised in Safford, Arizona, a small mining community.
While Pereira and Gaine will fight for the interim title, UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall (15-3) will retain his official title now that he will be dealing with eye injuries in his last appearance against Gaine in October.
Brazil's Pereira (13-3) is a former middleweight and light heavyweight champion.He became the UFC 185-pound champion in 2022 by knocking out Israel Adesanya, and a year later defeated JiYí Procházka to become the light heavyweight champion.
France's Gane (13-2) is a former interim champion.He challenged Aspinall for the official title in October, but the match ended in a no contest after Aspinall was unable to continue due to injuries sustained from an accidental eye poke from Gane.Gane is 10-2 overall in the UFC.His only losses came in the championship match against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.
