With just 39 days remaining until Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes history with UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, UFC Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and interim champion Justin Gaethje came face-to-face on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) in front of the iconic venue where they’ll collide on Sun., June 14, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Check out the staredown below:
If you missed it, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane also had their own White House faceoff.
Topuria (17-0) has looked untouchable since arriving in the UFC in 2020, capturing titles in two divisions while building a terrifying knockout streak. “El Matador” has stopped legends like Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway (watch highlights), and Charles Oliveira (watch highlights) in consecutive title fights.
Gaethje (27-5), meanwhile, enters the matchup riding a two-fight win streak. Most recently, “The Highlight” reclaimed the interim Lightweight title with a brutal five-round beating of Paddy Pimblett (watch highlights), earning himself the blockbuster showdown with Topuria.
“Now with Justin Gaethje, everyone is saying, ‘This is a super easy fight, he’s going to get knocked out really fast,’ but they’re forgetting that Justin Gaethje is a very tough guy with a ton of experience,” Topuria said recently. “It’s a tough fight, but at the same time, like we always say, there are levels to this. Everyone has their moment, and I feel like this is my moment, and victory will be mine…I think it’s going to be in the first round.”
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