UFC Freedom – Ilia Topuria (17-0) defends his momentum against Justin Gaethje (27-5) on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, with the main card set for 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. The full event card also features Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Ga
On a Sunday when the White House grounds will be filled with fight fans instead of briefing-room silence, UFC Freedom 250 will put one of the sport’s biggest stages behind a lightweight title bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
The event is scheduled for Sunday, June 14, on the South Lawn of the White House. It starts at 8 p.m. ET, will be broadcast live on CBS, and will be streamed on Paramount+.
For Topuria, the appeal is simple: he’s been getting it done. He enters at 17-0 and is 29 years old, eight years younger than Gaethje, who is 37. Both fighters have a similar number of UFC bouts—Topuria has fought about half the bouts as Gaethje. who stands at 27-5—creating a matchup where the question isn’t only experience. but what that experience has cost.
They also line up physically in a way that doesn’t obviously tilt the fight. Gaethje is 5-11 and Topuria is 5-7, but Gaethje’s reach advantage is only one inch: 70 inches to 69 inches.
Recent history is where the stakes start to feel sharper. In his past three fights. Topuria has won by knockout against three former UFC champions: Charles Oliveira. Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Gaethje’s recent path also includes big names. but with a different shape—he fought Oliveira in 2022 and lost by first-round submission. and he faced Holloway. losing by knockout with one second left in the fifth round.
Topuria hasn’t needed the full distance often, either. He has gone the full five rounds only once in a victory over Josh Emmett by unanimous decision, a result labeled the Fight of the Night on the UFC on ABC card in 2023.
That’s the picture leading into UFC Freedom 250: two fighters separated by age and record, converging on the White House stage with one side riding a stream of knockout finishes over former champions and the other bringing a history of hard outcomes against top-tier opponents.
UFC Freedom 250 main card
Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje, lightweight title bout
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane, heavyweight interim title bout
Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, bantamweight
Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis, heavyweight
Michael Chandler vs. Mauricio Ruffy, lightweight
Kyle Daukaus vs. Bo Nickal, middleweight
Steve Garcia vs. Diego Lopes, featherweight.
UFC Freedom 250 White House Ilia Topuria Justin Gaethje CBS Paramount+ fight card Alex Pereira Ciryl Gane Sean O'Malley Derrick Lewis Michael Chandler Bo Nickal