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TOPSHOT - America's Justin Gaethje celebrates after defeating Georgia's Ilia Topuria during "UFC Freedom 250" mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, in the early morning hours of June 15, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / POOL / AFP via Getty Images) | POOL/AFP via Getty Images
UFC Freedom 250 went down last night (Sat., June 14, 2026) on the infamous South Lawn of the White House in what proved to be a nasty weather-free action packed event. In the main event of the evening, Justin Gaethje mauled Ilia Topuria to unify the Lightweight titles (see it again here). In the co-headlining bout, Ciryl Gane knocked out former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, in impressive fashion to win the interim Heavyweight title (video replay here).
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Biggest Winner: Justin Gaethje
Gaethje finally realized his dream of becoming undisputed UFC Lightweight champion of the world by brutalizing Topuria over the course of four back-and-forth rounds. Gaethje’s toughness and resilience was once again on full display after surviving what appeared to be a near stoppage after Topuria started attacking the body. In true “Highlight” fashion, he managed to survive and get back to delivering a beatdown. Not only does he now stand alone at the top at 155 pounds, but he pulls off what many consider one of the biggest upsets ever after handing Topuria — a former two-division champion who had looked unbeatable throughout his career — his first loss ever. At 37 years of age, retirement is no longer in the conversation, as Gaethje can look ahead to more big-money fights moving forward.
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Runner Up: Ciryl Gane (Not Jon Jones or Francis Ngannou)
All eyes were on Pereira coming into this fight because “Poatan” was looking to make history by becoming the first man to ever win three seperate division titles under the UFC banner. When comparing the popularity Pereira has amassed throught his UFC career, it’s easy to see why Gane was not getting much love. But the hulking Frenchman sent a bone-chilling message to all the “Chama” chanters by ending “Poatan’s” night with a vicious knockout, becoming just the second man ever to stop Pereira via strikes inside the Octagon, the first being Israel Adesanya. In doing so, Gane gets the chance to unify the titles by trying to take care of some unfinished business against division king Tom Aspinall later this year.
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Honorable Mention: Josh Hokit
“The Incredible Hok” continued his ascencion up the Heavyweight ladder by stopping Derrick Lewis in round two, moving him to 10-0 as a pro, 4-0 inside the Octagon (highlights). That is now back-to-back wins against Top 10 fighters for Hokit, which might be good enough to put him in the Top 3. Hokit’s run up the big man ladder has been quick, and though a lot of people aren’t big fans of his WWE-style interviews, he knows how to take care of business once the cage door slams shut. Not to mention, you know he’s celebrating a little extra after seeing Pereira and Topuria — two men he’s been picking on in the leadup to this event — get beatdown.
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Biggest Losers: Ilia Topuria and Michael Chandler
Not only did Topuria lose his belt and undefeated record, but he was left a mangled mess after spending 20 minutes in the cage with one of the hardest hitters to ever step foot inside the cage. Many are doubting whether or not Topuria gave Gaethje the proper respect coming into the fight, not recognizing his true power and size. While Topuria did have some shining moments, it’s not capitalizing on them that cost him. After hurting Gaethje with vicious shots to the body that left “Highlight” in pain and on the canvas, “El Matador” went to the mat looking for submissions instead of letting him back up to finish the striking attack. That ultimately was a turning point in the fight as Gaethje was able to recover and get back to business. Topuria showed toughness of his own by continuing to fight on despite have comprimised vision and a busted up face, but in the end be wound up suffering a brutal TKO defeat after not getting off the stool for the final round. Now, he will have to win a fight or two once he heals in order to work his way up to another title fight. This time around he may trying to be a bit more humble.
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As for Chandler, he suffered his fourth straight defeat — third via stoppage — after getting knocked out in the very first round by Mauricio Ruffy. Chandler drops to 2-6 under the UFC banner and at age 40, whispers of potential retirement could be hitting his ears. He has not looked great over the last few years, as much as he tries to entertain. There is no telling if Dana White will have a long talk with him about his fighting future, but it doesn’t look too bright for “Iron.”
For complete UFC Freedom 250 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.
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