An historic moment turned into one of the most iconic nights imaginable as UFC Freedom 250 was a non-stop thrill ride from start-to-finish on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.
From the opening bout of the evening through to the climactic main event, it was all-action inside the Octagon and a spectacular show all around, with all seven bouts ending inside the distance, culminating with Justin Gaethje dethroning Ilia Topuria to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
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If you missed any of the action, never fear — we’ve got fight-by-fight recaps below to get you all caught up.
Justin Gaethje achieved his lifelong dream on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday night, earning a fourth-round stoppage win over Ilia Topuria to claim the undisputed lightweight title when Topuria declined to continue.
Gaethje had a strong first round, landing the bigger shots of the two before Topuria rallied and nearly finished the interim champion in the second, hurting him to the body multiple times before chasing a series of submissions on the canvas. From there, however, Gaethje took control, battering the previously unbeaten Georgian with heavy shots that left him an absolute bloody, swollen mess.
The doctor checked on Topuria before the fourth and he was allowed to continue, but when he returned to his corner following the round, the bout was halted.
What an absolutely monumental effort from Gaethje to weather the second-round storm and take the fight to Topuria from there. His ability to withstand punishment and continue to push forward is unmatched and uncanny, and now, he’s the UFC lightweight champion.
Ciryl Gane is once again the interim UFC heavyweight champion, finishing Alex Pereira amidst a torrent of strikes early in the second round.
In the opening round, the speed and diversity of Gane kept Pereira off rhythm and unable to get anything going beyond a smattering of low kicks, while the French heavyweight sored with the much cleaner shots. Straight out of the corner to start Round 2, Gane took the fight to Pereira, hurting him with a jab and then staying on the gas until he was finally able to secure the finish.
This was a brilliant effort from Gane, who continued to show he’s a world-class talent and one of the absolute best heavyweights on the planet. His win on Sunday should set up a rematch with undisputed champion Tom Aspinall whenever the Brit is ready to return to action.
Sean O'Malley ended Aiemann Zahabi's seven-fight winning streak in dramatic fashion, hitting a walk-off knockout to punctuate the final non-title fight of the night at UFC Freedom 250.
The former champion got the better of the striking exchanges in the first, but neither man did much significant damage. In the second, Zahabi focused on landing low kicks while O’Malley started touching him with heavier shots, and a little more than a minute after the midway point of a round, a left hand sent the French-Canadian to the canvas. When Zahabi got to his feet, O’Malley landed a right hand on his jaw that put him down again and halted the action.
This was a return to the sniper version of “Suga Sean,” who was dropping people routinely earlier in his career, but hadn’t been felling people as much of late. O’Malley looked sharp throughout and should remain in the thick of the title chase in the bantamweight ranks after this performance.
Josh Hokit scored his fourth straight UFC victory to move to 10-0 on Sunday, battering Derrick Lewis and earning a second-round stoppage to keep his momentum rolling.
Hokit was dominant from the outset, taking the fight to Lewis and using his superior speed and movement to avoid any of the big swings coming back his way. He took Lewis down and roughed him up on the canvas in the first, but it wasn’t needed in the second, as Hokit lit up an exhausted Lewis, ultimately securing the finish moments into the final moment of the middle frame.
The recent Dana White’s Contender Series grad has now beaten a pair of ranked opponents this year to establish himself as a Top 5 talent in the heavyweight division. Skill-for-skill, he’s a fascinating prospect, and it will be intriguing to see what comes next for him after another memorable effort at the White House.
Mauricio Ruffy patiently punished Michael Chandler, walking him down before finally finding his range, hurting him multiple times and putting him away in the final moments of the first round.
Ruffy was happy to take his time and make reads as he and Chandler circled one another in the early going, but once he started to get loose, it was one-way traffic. An uppercut sent Chandler tumbling backwards, two spinning wheel kicks landed on the gloves and still rung his bell, and the finishing blows came with Chandler already on his knees and reeling.
Just a brilliant performance from Ruffy, who picked up his second stoppage win of the year and kept himself in the thick of the chase in the lightweight division. The Brazilian is now 5-1 in the UFC and 14-2 overall with 13 finishes, while Chandler suffered a fourth straight loss and fell to 2-6 inside the Octagon.
Bo Nickal went to Washington and picked up the most impressive win of his career, dispatching Kyle Daukaus in the final minute of the first round.
Nickal took the fight to the canvas in the early going and worked from top position, opening a cut on Daukaus’ forehead. Referee Jason Herzog eventually stood them up and shortly after the reset, Nicka connected with a right hook and follow-up left that put Daukaus on the deck with the subsequent elbows and punches sealing the win.
That’s now consecutive stoppage wins for the three-time National champion wrestler and rising middleweight. Now in his fourth year on the roster, could this be the start of a run towards the Top 10 for the former Nittany Lion Nickal?
Diego Lopes pulled a finish out of nowhere to kick off UFC Freedom 250, throwing caution to the wind and stopping Steve Garcia in a wild opener in Washington.
Garcia got the better of the exchanges in the opening round and sat Lopes down with a clean left hand early in the second. But it seemed to inspire Lopes to bite down on his mouthpiece and dive into the fray, and when he did, the shots started connecting. Garcia tried to fire back, but it was to no avail, as the Brazilian kept finding the mark and pounded out the finish.
Not only was it a brilliant way to kick things off on Sunday night, but it’s a massive win for Lopes, who can now pick the direction he wants to go in the back half of the year. Whether he stays at featherweight and battles another Top 10 talent or makes the move up to lightweight, action will follow as it always does and Lopes will be a threat either way.
UFC Freedom 250 presented by Crypto.com and Ram took place live from the White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 14. See the Official Results, Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
