Ilia Topuria Vs. Justin Gaethje, Alex Pereira Vs. Ciryl Gane To Headline UFC White House Card
UFC CEO Dana White said that “never, ever, ever” was Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira going to be on the historic card.
The UFC announced that undefeated lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will face fan favorite Justin Gaethje in the headliner of the June 14 UFC White House card, which has been dubbed “Freedom 250.”
The co-main event will see Alex Pereira battle Ciryl Gane for the UFC interim heavyweight title in the long-awaited White House slugfest that will help celebrate America’s 250 years of independence.
Numerous big names were rumored possibilities for the historic event, from Conor McGregor to Jon Jones, who easily vanquished Gane in 2023. But the official announcement–revealed before Charles Oliveira dominated Max Holloway to win the BMF championship at UFC 326–finally gave clarity to the biggest guessing game in combat sports.
“This card was a lot more difficult to get to the finish as anticipated, but we got it done,” UFC CEO Dana White told reporters. “You know, like we said last night, the matchmaker was literally in the office all night last night working on this thing. It’s done. We’ll let it roll. Here we come, Washington, D.C.”
Topuria, 29, has knocked out UFC greats Holloway, Oliveira, and Alexander Volkanovski in his last three fights. Gaethje, 37, most recently beat Paddy Pimblett in January to claim the interim lightweight title.
Pereira, 38, vacated his UFC light heavyweight strap on Feb. 27, fueling rumors that he was trying to become the first UFC fighter to win titles in three different weight divisions with a run at the heavyweight crown.
“[Pereira] moving up to take on a guy like Ciryl Gane? The way that these two fight, it’s gonna be very, very interesting,” White said. “And should he win the fight, then we figure out what’s going on with Tom Aspinall and it could be him versus Aspinall,” the current UFC heavyweight champion who is still recovering from eye poke injuries suffered during his no contest debacle with Gane last October.
Pereira, a former middleweight champ, regained his light heavyweight title with a first-round TKO of Magomed Ankalaev in October 2025. Gane, 35, is a former interim heavyweight titleist who lost his belt to Francis Ngannou in 2022 and lost another title shot to Jones via a first-round guillotine choke in 2023.
While many UFC fans expected that Pereira would face Jones, 38, White insisted that was never a consideration, given the currently-retired Jones’ arthritic hips.
“Never, ever, ever – which I told you guys 100,000 times – was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White told reporters after UFC 326. “Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have hip replacements.”
“I’m not saying they weren’t talking to Jon Jones and that Jon Jones wasn’t interested in the fight. What was even crazier was Jon Jones came out and was like ‘I’m in negotiations right now for the White House card,’ after I had already sent a text to his lawyer saying, ‘Never going to happen ever.'”
While some online commenters branded the card as something of a disappointment after all the build-up, MMA pundit Ariel Helwani declared that it was “the best card we’ve gotten in a very long time.”
UFC Freedom 250 is scheduled for Sunday, June 14 on Paramount+ and will likely be simulcast on CBS. Check out the main event card below.
UFC Freedom 250 Fight Card
- Lightweight title: Champion Ilia Topuria vs. Interim Champion Justin Gaethje
- Interim heavyweight title: Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane
- Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
- Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Featherweight: Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia