What’s at stake in each fight at UFC Freedom 250

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The discussion around Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 has focused so much on what’s happening outside the octagon — the politics, the weather, the spectacle of it all — that it’s easy to overlook the meaningful fights set to occur inside of it.

So, now that the night’s finally upon us, here’s a look at what’s at stake in each of the seven matchups on the White House’s south lawn. Action on Sportsnet+ begins at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria

Order. UFC’s lightweight division has been out of sorts since Islam Makhachev moved up to welterweight, vacating the 155-pound title he held for nearly three years and defended a division-record four times. That opened a path for Topuria to win it last June in what turned out to be the last time it was contested in undisputed fashion. 

While Topuria was sidelined tending to a bitter legal dispute with his ex-wife, UFC staged an interim title fight which Gaethje won over Paddy Pimblett in January.

But over the 12 months it’s taken to put the undisputed belt back on the line, deserving lightweight contenders — namely, Arman Tsarukyan and Benoit Saint Denis — have been forced to choose between either sitting out or taking make-busy fights. In what’s typically one of the promotion’s most competitive divisions, action at the top has ground to a halt.

This Sunday will ideally end that. Either Gaethje scratches-and-claws his late-career renaissance a little further or Topuria reannounces himself as one of the sport’s most dangerous knockout artists. Tsarukyan ought to be next. And the sooner, the better in a division that could use a push forward.

Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira

History. Never before has a fighter won UFC titles in three weight classes and Pereira’s pursuit of that goal is the biggest plot point you’ll find anywhere on this card. Aside from Topuria and Makhachev, it’s hard to envision anyone else on the roster who could even entertain such a feat. Should he do it, Pereira will cement himself as a generational figure in the sport. 

Consider the speed and degree of difficulty. After winning his first three UFC fights in an eight-month span, Pereira took the middleweight belt off Israel Adesanya a little more than three years ago. He won the light-heavyweight title just a year later and defended it three times in seven months. He even won it back in late 2025 after losing it in an upset to Magomed Ankalaev earlier that year. 

The longest layoff of Pereira’s UFC career is the eight-month one preceding this fight, which he took to bulk up to heavyweight where he’ll meet an opponent who weighs 60 pounds heavier than Adesanya did. But considering the deafening reaction he received at Saturday’s ceremonial weigh-in, the layoff did little to quell his superstar status.

It’s no short shrift to Gane, who is far from an underdog here and will be fighting for a belt for the fourth time in his last eight fights. But Sunday’s all about Pereira’s pursuit of history, and how high he’ll set the bar for whoever tries next. 

Aiemann Zahabi vs. Sean O’Malley

Meritocracy. After he was fed a line of overmatched, stylistically disadvantaged opponents early in his UFC career, O’Malley received a 135-pound title shot off the back of a controversial split-decision win over Petr Yan in his first matchup with a legitimate contender. 

Meanwhile, Zahabi’s name has never even entered the bantamweight title conversation despite a seven-fight win streak that includes victories over Pedro Munhoz, whom O’Malley fought to a no contest due to an eye poke, and Marlon Vera, against whom O’Malley is 1-1.

That’s the difference marketability can make for you in this sport. And the UFC likely made this fight envisioning O’Malley rallying his stock with a memorable moment over a Canadian before the White House in the background. 

But if Montreal’s Zahabi can rain on that parade with an upset victory Sunday night, his contendership will be unquestionable. It may not be enough to get him straight into a title fight with Yan, who won the belt in December, but it’ll put him on the doorstep.

Derrick Lewis vs. Josh Hokit

Entertainment. These two heavyweights are characters from opposite ends of the spectrum. 

Lewis, an understated, unfiltered everyman known for his blunt, raunchy, self-deprecating post-fight speeches delivered deadpan as if knocking a 250-pound man out before tens of thousands is just another day at the office. 

Hokit, a mishmash of tropes borrowed from pro wrestlers, one-liner comedians and MMA trash talkers who has Frankenstein’ed his own absurdist persona that materializes in everything from boastful, rhyming limericks to vulgar, shock-seeking statements to soft-spoken self-doubt seemingly at random.

They’re both cartoonish in their own way. And the build-up to this fight has delivered on the promise of crude, chaotic back-and-forths. Now we watch to see what antics they’ve saved for the cage. 

Michael Chandler vs. Mauricio Ruffy

Action. The UFC didn’t match these two up and put them on a premier card because they’re slow starters who ease their way into measured, tactical fights. They’re here to have a brawl. 

Chandler’s fully embraced his purpose of putting on a show every time he sets foot in the octagon, despite ending up on the wrong end of it more often than not. Ruffy is a sharp, lightning-quick combo striker who’s no stranger to flashy finishes. Both are creative and explosive. Neither is defensively sound. 

That’s why it’s hard to imagine this fight going the distance and being anything but a fireworks show.

Kyle Daukaus vs. Bo Nickal

Momentum. Daukaus has made a statement in his return to the UFC nearly three years after his uneven initial run, earning emphatic first-round victories over middleweight mainstays Michel Pereira and Gerald Meerschaert. An upset victory over a recognizable name like Nickal would elevate his redemption arc to another stratosphere. 

But Nickal will be out to seize that momentum and make it his own after bouncing back from the first loss of his career with a highlight-reel knockout of Rodolfo Vieira. 

Regardless of outcome, the UFC has positioned itself well with shrewd matchmaking. Either one of America’s most renowned collegiate wrestlers has a marketable moment on the White House lawn or Daukaus becomes one of the more compelling comeback stories in the sport.

Steve Garcia vs. Diego Lopes

Contendership. Lopes has come up short twice now in title shots against 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski and must begin turning away surging up-and-comers like Garcia if he plans to hang around the top of the featherweight ladder until Volkanovski moves on. And Garcia needs a name-brand scalp on his wall to prove himself capable of hanging with his division’s top fighters. 

Either Lopes demonstrates there’s levels to this game or Garcia announces his presence on Volkanovski’s doorstep.