TLDR
- UFC Freedom 250 will take place at the White House on June 14, marking the first major sporting competition held there
- The event will cost $60 million to stage and is expected to lose about $30 million
- Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje will headline the card, with Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane as the co-main event
- UFC legend Matt Brown said the card is underwhelming compared to the hype promising multiple title fights
- Dana White confirmed Jon Jones and Conor McGregor were never seriously considered for the event
Sources: frontofficesports.com | mmafighting.com
The UFC announced the complete fight card for its historic White House event on Saturday, but reactions from fans and fighters have been mixed. UFC Freedom 250 will take place on June 14, the 80th birthday of President Donald Trump, who has maintained a close relationship with UFC president Dana White.
The event will mark the first major sporting competition ever held at the White House. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will face Justin Gaethje in a title unification bout as the main event.
Topuria had been on an extended break while dealing with a contentious divorce that was settled out of court last month. The fight with Gaethje was in doubt until recent days, according to White.
🤔👇 'UFC Freedom 250' kartını 10 üzerinden puanlayın. pic.twitter.com/Nt6vHm0RZv
— Cage Pulse (@Cage_PulseMMA) March 8, 2026
Event Will Lose Millions Despite High Cost
UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings said the event will cost at least $60 million to stage. The company expects to lose about $30 million on the card.
TKO president Mark Shapiro called the event a “strategic investment” to gain new subscribers for Paramount+ and generate global media attention. The fight card will stream exclusively on Paramount+, though White said full distribution plans have not been finalized and CBS may show part of the event.
The co-main event features Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight for an interim title fight against Ciryl Gane. The remaining four fights on the card include Sean O’Malley facing Aiemann Zahabi and Michael Chandler taking on Mauricio Ruffy.
Critics Say Card Does Not Match the Hype
UFC legend Matt Brown said he was not impressed with the lineup after months of buildup. “Initially when I first looked through the card, I was not impressed at all,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast.
Brown said the UFC set expectations too high by promising the greatest card ever with six or seven title fights. “It’s a good card. It truly is. My kind issue with the card is they set the expectations high,” he said.
Brown questioned why lesser-known fighters received spots on the card when every UFC fighter wanted to compete at the White House. He specifically mentioned fighters like Aiemann Zahabi and Kyle Daukaus as surprising choices.
Dana White dismissed rumors about Jon Jones or Conor McGregor being involved in the event. “The Jon Jones thing is bullshit,” White said, explaining that he told Jones’ lawyer the fight would “never going to happen ever.”
White acknowledged the challenges of putting together any fight card. “There’s crazy shit with making every card in this business,” he said. “It’s like a soap opera here every day. But this was a fun one to put together.”
Brown said the event itself will attract viewers regardless of who is fighting. “I think they just know we’re all going to watch it,” he said.
The June 14 date falls less than three weeks before the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence on July 4. Paramount+ currently has 79 million subscribers and plans to merge with HBO Max if the $110 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery is completed.
