Once it became clear that the concept of a UFC event hosted by the White House was going to become a reality, droves of fighters ranging from rookies to established stars to current and former titleholders began campaigning for a spot on the unique card.
Past double champs and superstars such as Conor McGregor and Jon Jones were passed over, and ultimately, only 14 athletes ended up getting the call to be included at UFC Freedom 250, which takes place Sunday night in Washington, D.C.
All the competitors from the seven-bout card participated in an outdoor press conference at the Lincoln Memorial Friday night before stepping on the scale Saturday morning for the official weigh-in.
UFC Freedom 250 is headlined by a pair of title fights.
The main event is a lightweight title unification bout between 155-pound champion Ilia Topuria and interim champ Justin Gaethje, while the co-main event is an interim heavyweight title clash between former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and four-time UFC heavyweight title challenger Ciryl Gane.
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Topuria and Gaethje each had to weigh no more than 155 pounds for their title bout to be made official, and both fighters made championship weight on their first attempt Saturday.
The undefeated Topuria is a former 145-pound champ who left the division after back-to-back knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway and became a 155-pound champ last summer when he knocked out Charles Oliveira in half a round.
Before his first lightweight title defence, though, Topuria announced late last year he was taking a personal leave of absence, and the UFC introduced an interim title that Gaethje won in January when he defeated Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324. Topuria has vowed to knock Gaethje out in under two minutes.
The limit for Pereira and Gane was 265 pounds. Neither needed to cut any weight on Saturday.
Pereira will be making his heavyweight debut on Sunday night, and if victorious, will make history as the first fighter in UFC history to win titles in three different weight classes. The soon-to-be 39-year-old from Brazil followed up a legendary career as a two-weight kickboxing world champion by transitioning to mixed martial arts.
“Poatan” began his UFC tenure 4.5 years ago as a 185-pounder and won the middleweight belt when he beat Israel Adesanya in 2022. He later moved up to the 205-pound division, where he became a two-time light-heavyweight champ with six knockout wins in an eight-fight stretch. He decided to move up in weight yet again following an 80-second win over Magomed Ankalaev in October.
Pereira weighed a career-high 251 pounds, with Gane tipping the scale at 248 pounds.
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Watch UFC Freedom 250 on Sportsnet+
The UFC heads to the White House lawn for a night of fights in what promises to be one of the most unique sporting events in history. Watch UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday, June 14 with the seven-fight pay-per-view card available on Sportsnet+ starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Gane will be competing in his fifth UFC heavyweight title fight in his past eight appearances. He is 1-2 with one no-contest so far when UFC gold is on the line. Gane is coming off a fight against reigning heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall, during which Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes resulting in a no-contest and Aspinall requiring multiple eye surgeries. Sunday’s interim title up for grabs was introduced because Aspinall’s recovery time remains indefinite.
Gane previously won an interim belt five years ago when he defeated Derrick Lewis before eventually losing a unification bout to Francis Ngannou. He also lost a separate title bout to Jon Jones.
Lewis is also on the White House card in the night’s only other heavyweight bout. The UFC’s all-time knockout leader – who was added to the card on personal request from the United States President – faces undefeated Josh Hokit. Lewis weighed the most of any fighter on the card.
Also on the one-of-a-kind card, Montreal’s Aiemann Zahabi meets former 135-pound champion Sean O’Malley in a pivotal contest where the winner could earn a bantamweight title shot. The occasional Sportsnet analyst has won seven in a row and is the lone Canadian competing at the event.
Two-time featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes will add another marquee event to his legacy after also competing on the historic UFC 300 and in the Sphere at UFC 306. He faces knockout artist Steve Garcia in a fan-friendly pairing that opens the card.
Not only is Lopes set for this matchup with the streaking Garcia, but he weighed in a second time so that he can be the official backup option for the main event should anything prevent Topuria or Gaethje from competing Sunday.
Middleweight standout Bo Nickal, who is a friend and occasional golfing partner of Donald Trump, takes on fellow American Kyle Daukaus.
Proud American Michael Chandler returns to action and will look to snap a three-fight losing streak when he faces Brazil’s Mauricio Ruffy in a lightweight bout.
A ceremonial weigh-in is set for Saturday night at The Ellipse, available to stream live on Sportsnet+ beginning at approximately 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Below are the official weigh-in results for UFC Freedom 250:
— Ilia Topuria (155) vs. Justin Gaethje (155)
— Alex Pereira (251) vs. Ciryl Gane (248)
— Sean O’Malley (135.5) vs. Aiemann Zahabi (135)
— Derrick Lewis (265) vs. Josh Hokit (231)
— Mauricio Ruffy (155) vs. Michael Chandler (156)
— Bo Nickal (186) vs. Kyle Daukaus (186)
— Diego Lopes (146)* vs. Steve Garcia (146)
*Lopes later also weighed 154 pounds to register as the main event backup fighter