The White House was transformed into a fighting arena on Saturday night, as US President Donald Trump and UFC president Dana White hosted the spectacular “UFC Freedom 250” event on the South Lawn of the presidential residence.
Over 4,000 fans closely followed the historic evening, organized as part of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence and Trump’s 80th birthday.
In the main event of the evening, American Justin Gaethje caused one of the biggest surprises of the year, defeating champion Ilia Topuria and unifying the lightweight titles.
After the triumph, Gaethje celebrated with a somersault off the cage and then approached Trump with the American flag on his shoulder and the championship belt on his arm.
“I’m from America. 250 years ago we were much more than 6-to-1 favorites against us. I still can’t believe this win,” Gaethje declared.
Topuria and Gaethje made their entrance to the cage straight from the Oval Office, as fireworks lit up the sky during introductions by the legendary Michael Buffer.
In the co-main event, Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Pereira by technical knockout after just 1 minute and 27 seconds in the second round, winning the interim heavyweight title and securing a rematch with champion Tom Aspinall.
Like many of the evening’s winners, Gane thanked Trump after his success.
A patriotic atmosphere dominated the entire event. The US Navy Band performed the fighters’ introductory music, while Zac Brown sang the American national anthem, something that rarely happens at UFC events due to the participation of athletes from many countries.
The famous Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flew over the White House, giving the spectacle a special dimension.
Among those in attendance were well-known figures such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.
Another special moment was the victory of Bo Nickal, who after triumphing over Kyle Daukaus by technical knockout, immediately came out of the cage to greet Trump near the arena.
Meanwhile, Sean O’Malley won by spectacular knockout and celebrated his success with a military salute in front of an enthusiastic audience.
To organize the event, according to documents published by the National Park Service, more than $60 million and thousands of man hours were invested in building the temporary arena on the South Lawn of the White House.
The evening was considered the culmination of the long relationship between Donald Trump and Dana White, a collaboration that dates back to 2001, when White hosted his first event as UFC president at the Trump Taj Mahal.
For the first time in history, UFC fighters walked to the cage in the corridors of the West Wing of the White House, making “UFC Freedom 250” one of the most unusual and talked about events in the history of combat sports.
