UFC: White House aka UFC Freedom 250 takes place on Sunday night in Washington D.C. and we’ve got our predictions for all seven fights below.

Main Card

Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje

Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria makes his first title defense on Sunday night against interim champ Justin Gaethje, who has won his last two fights.

At 29-years-old, Topuria is in his prime and rightly brimming with confidence. His elite status has been cemented beyond any doubt by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira in succession, reaching 17‑0 in the process and winning two titles. Topuria’s technical striking is exceptional, aided not just by fast hands and footwork, but also quick-thinking and fast-reactions too. Despite that, Topuria doesn’t just go in with all-guns-blazing, instead adopting a cold, calculated approach, stalking his prey and then capitalizing on openings or counter-striking opportunities with precision timing and laser-accuracy. Unfortunately for his opponents Topuria is also blessed with formidable power, leading to all seven of his career victories by strikes having come via clean KO. That’s not his only threat though as while he doesn’t use it much these days, Topuria actually tore through the regional scene with a long string of submission wins, and he has good wrestling too. Topuria has few weaknesses, with the only potential issue being he’s a bit undersized at 155lbs, and was dropped by the tall, lengthy Jai Herbert early in his first ever fight in this weight class a few years ago. That being said, it should be stressed that Topuria soon adjusted to the reach discrepancy and KO’d him in the following round, and Gaethje isn’t equipped with those long limbs.

The 37-year-old Gaethje is a two‑time interim champ and former BMF titleholder who is known to be one of the UFC’s most consistently entertaining all-action fighters. It’s a credit to Gaethje’s toughness that he’s still competing at the highest level at this stage in his career as even before he joined the UFC back in 2017 he was known for having a reckless style that would see him throw everything but the kitchen sink at his opponents, while absorbing a lot of punishment in return, until he eventually found a finish. It didn’t seem like a sustainable strategy long-term, particularly in the Octagon, but though he has suffered defeats at times, he’s continued to notch up plenty of wins. In all fairness has adapted over time, becoming more measured and technical over time, leading to more wins on the scorecards than in the past, but he still packs a punch and possesses brutal low kicks, together with good cardio to maintain a high-output offensively.

Gaethje is a warrior, but I think Topuria is just going to prove to be too high-level here, with his speed, movement, precision and power enabling him to constantly be a step-ahead until he delivers a fight-ending TKO finish in the second round.

Pick: Ilia Topuria wins by TKO in Rd2.

Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane

Already a former champion at 185lbs and 205lbs, Alex Pereira will now attempt to win the interim heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane.

After a decorated kickboxing career, Pereira’s world-class striking has carried over seamlessly to MMA, producing eight knockouts in ten UFC wins, with many coming over current and former champions. At 6’4″ with a 79″ reach, the 38-year-old Pereira has the frame to be a heavyweight, and his potential finishing power up another weight class is a formidable prospect for anyone going up against him. His left hook remains one of the single most dangerous weapons in the sport and he also throws powerful kicks with no tells too, while despite his long combat sports career he remains durable too. Pereira has reasonably solid takedown defense, but he has a limited ground game and it remains to be seen how much of an impact fighting at heavyweight will have on his speed and cardio over five rounds.

The 36-year-old Gane is a rare heavyweight in that he’s an imposing physical presence at 6ft 5″ with an 81″ inch reach, yet is surprisingly athletic, light‑footed, technical, and patient in the way he approaches his fights. He works behind a clean jab and kicks on the outside and does a very good of managing distance, while picking his moments to dart in and out with more explosive offense. He has the power to finish fights if he chooses to use it, but more often than not he’s comfortable just to focus on outpointing his opponent and win on the scorecards. In the past Gane has shown solid offensive wrestling chops and even a submission threat, but Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones both showed that his wrestling and grappling defense is a weakness. He has worked to improve upon that since though and has got a couple of wins under his belt, while he was looking good against current champion Tom Aspinall too until his eye-poke led to a premature no-contest.

Pereira is always one clean strike away from ending a fight, even up at heavyweight. However, Gane presents a tough stylistic match-up for him as he’s not only big, but will also likely be the faster, more mobile fighter, is disciplined defensively and has very respectable striking technique. Add in the fact that Gane could also mix in a takedown threat and I think he has what it takes to win rounds and emerge with a decision victory.

Pick: Ciryl Gane wins by decision.

Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi

Sean O’Malley opened the year with a win over Song Yadong and now faces Aiemann Zahabi, who rides a seven‑fight winning streak.

The 31-year-old O’Malley lost his grip on the bantamweight title back in 2024 when he found his stylistic nemesis in Merab Dvalishvili, who used his wrestling to dominate him in back-to-back fights. That could have left O’Malley in limbo, but Dvalishvili’s title loss late last year has now put him right back in the mix at the top-end of the division. Aside from Merab, O’Malley has only lost once in his career, with his striking prowess proving to be too much for many opponents to handle. O’Malley is a highly skilled technician who has shown the speed, timing and accuracy to be a calculated sniper from range in the Octagon, though he is also capable of switching to high-volume combination work as well. 12 of O’Malley’s 19 career wins have come via strikes, but he also has the patience and cardio to go the distance if required. It’s also worth noting that though Dvalishvili was able to repeatedly take him down, other fighters haven’t found it quite so easy.

Zahabi only won once in his first three UFC fights, but has since quietly compiled a lengthy winning streak to steadily rise up the ranks. The only problem is that due to not fighting often he’s peaking late in his career at 38-years-old. Zahabi has never been the most athletic or naturally gifted fighter, but he’s improved his solid all-round skill-set over time to become a disciplined, patient counter‑striker who manages his cardio better than he used to and can mix in some wrestling and grappling too. Despite a couple of KO wins during his UFC run he usually finds a way to win by decision, including showing real grit and determination to bounce back from adversity in his comeback victory over Jose Aldo in 2025.

Zahabi has done well to get himself to this point, but I think this will prove to be a step too far, with O’Malley’s faster, slicker and more clinical stand-up game giving him the upper-hand on his way to a 2nd round TKO stoppage.

Pick: Sean O’Malley wins by TKO in Rd2.

Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis

The undefeated Josh Hokit comes into this fight with three wins in the UFC so far, while veteran fighter Derrick Lewis looks to rebound from a TKO loss in January.

The 28-year-old Hokit transitioned to MMA after his NFL hopes faded after a two-year stint on the San Francisco 49’ers practice squad. Hokit already had All‑American wrestling credentials along with his good athleticism to help with the switch, and has gone on to produce a 9-0 record over the past three years. That being said, he hadn’t faced any particularly notable competition until his wild three‑round slug-fest with Curtis Blaydes last time out, where he showed exceptional courage and toughness. despite being undersized at 6’1″ with a 73″ reach compared to his opponent. Hokit pushed a relentless pace and constantly went on the attack, fought through heavy damage, and was rewarded with not only a unanimous decision win, but also a late call-up to this prestigious White House event. The catch however is that he’s not had all that much time to recover from that brutal war.

President Trump himself requested that Lewis be added to the original 6-fight card drawn up by the UFC, showing a fondness for the veteran slugger who remains the UFC’s all‑time knockout leader with 18 KO victories. Even at 41, with suspect cardio and recurring back issues, ‘The Black Beast’ still carries fight‑ending power from the opening bell to the final minute. In fact, two of his last three wins came in under 40 seconds each, while his latest ever KO victory came just 11 seconds before the final bell. However, it’s clear that time has been catching up to him as Lewis is only 4–6 in his last ten fights, including four losses via strikes, while his ground game remains rudimentary and his energy reserves are at risk of being sapped even more than usual due to the hot, humid conditions expected at this outdoor event.

Hokit’s wrestling could be very useful here, but he was brought onto this card in the hopes that he’ll deliver another toe-to-toe war, and I think he may well oblige. I’d expect him to push the pace and try to swarm Lewis with high-volume strikes here. The problem however is that Hokit’s last fight showed that it’s all too easy to hit him, and there’s a world of difference between the punching power of Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. As such, I’m taking the underdog Lewis to find that one big punch he needs deliver a knockout finish in the 1st round.

Pick: Derrick Lewis wins by KO in Rd1.

Maurício Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler

Mauricio Ruffy has compiled a 4–1 record so far in the Octagon and now goes up against Michael Chandler, who has lost four of his six fights since joining the promotion late in his decorated career.

A week shy of his 30th birthday, Ruffy has made a good impact in the UFC with his razor-sharp striking. He’s a fighter who has become accustomed to finishing his opponents, with 12 of his 13 wins occurring inside the distance, including TKO’ing Rafael Fiziev last time out and KO’ing King Green with a spinning wheel kick last year. Ruffy isn’t just a heavy-hitter as he’s quick too, has a versatile arsenal of strikes and shows good composure in the cage. His ground game is a cause for concern though as he looked out-of-his-element when taken down by Benoit Saint Denis last year on his way to a submission defeat, while his striking defense could also do with some fine-tuning.

A former long-time leading light of the Bellator promotion as a three-time lightweight champion, Chandler’s best days were already behind him when he finally arrived in the UFC in 2021, and wasn’t helped by sitting out for two years waiting on a fight with Conor McGregor that never materialized. Chandler is known for having been in a lot of entertaining wars over the years, so at 40-years-old there’s a lot of miles on the clock, but to his credit he is still in very good shape and has always had excellent conditioning. He comes from a very solid wrestling foundation, and is also a very capable grappler, but Chandler has always loved a good stand-up battle. He has very good punching power and his cardio enables him to push a hard pace and deliver high numbers offensively. A real problem for Chandler though has been his desire to just get into an all-out brawl. It’s part of what’s helped him be a star, and he’s won many a fire-fight, but it’s also led to him taking a lot of punishment over the years and losing some fights along the way that he could potentially have won with a smarter game-plan. And now as his speed and durability decline it’s even more risky.

Chandler’s wrestling and submission threat could be key factors here, but he is the type of fighter who is likely to get caught up in the heat of the moment and look to put on a show on the feet. That’s likely to be a bad idea though as Ruffy has a size advantage and is the cleaner striker with proven power, which I think will be too much for him to withstand at this stage in his career, resulting in a 1st round TKO victory for Ruffy.

Pick: Mauricio Ruffy wins by TKO in Rd1.

Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus

Bo Nickal is on a 5–1 run in the UFC and is coming off a KO win as now prepares to lock horns with Kyle Daukaus, who has announced his return to the UFC in style with two quick finishes.

The 30-year-old Nickal arrived in the UFC in 2023 with plenty of fanfare thanks to his stellar wrestling credentials and a couple of swift submission wins on the Contender Series in the space of a month. His hot-streak continued in the early stages of his UFC run, But his striking limitations then showed up against Paul Craig in 2024, leading him to settle for his first decision win in an unconvincing performance, while his next outing against Reiner de Ridder exposed his discomfort under pressure in a TKO loss. Nickal has since rebounded well against Rodolfo Vieira to rebuild some confidence in his striking, but while his wrestling remains top-tier, it feels like there’s still plenty of work to do on his all-round MMA game if he’s to live up to the early hype when he was tipped to be a future champ.

Daukaus had an underwhelming first run in the UFC, going just 2-5 before being released in 2022. However, Daukaus regrouped well on the regional scene, becoming Cage Fury’s champion and has since justified being given a second chance in the UFC by securing KO and submission wins over Michel Pereira and Gerald Meerschaert respectively in a combined time of less than two minutes. The 34-year-old Daukaus is at his best as an experienced, opportunistic grappler with 12 submission wins to his name and a particular specialization in the D’arce choke. Meanwhile, his striking is serviceable but generally speaking he lacks speed and power, and his durability has been questionable at times.

Daukaus is the more seasoned fighter here, but Nickal is the superior athlete and wrestler. As such if he can stay mindful of the submission risk while working for takedowns and then stay disciplined on top I think he should be able to control the fight and emerge with a decision win.

Pick: Bo Nickal to win by decision.

Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia

Diego Lopes lost out in his second attempt to win the 145lb title last time out and now returns to open the White House main card against Steve Garcia, who has won his last seven fights in the Octagon.

The 31-year-old Lopes has been on a rollercoaster ride for years now since losing on the Contender Series and then getting a short-notice call-up to the UFC a couple of years later. Since then he’s fought Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight belt twice, featured on the main card of the one-off Noche UFC event at The Sphere and will now open up this historic event on the lawn of the White House. It’s also important to stress he’s also picked up big name wins along the way over the likes of Brian Ortega, Jean Silva and Sodiq Yussuf. Lopes is a very durable, well-conditioned fighter who is always ready to get on the front foot and bring the fight to his opponents. Lopes has power to go with the pressure, and isn’t afraid to eat punches to land his own thanks to his strong chin. Lopes also has good wrestling ability and can be a real handful to deal with on the mat by staying constantly active and chaining submission attempts together. Lopes has a strong finishing record, with 23 of his 27 career wins coming inside the distance. The two fights with Volkanovski did highlight limitations in Lopes striking ability and fight IQ at the highest level though.

The 34-year-old Garcia wasn’t an instant success in the UFC, but has built momentum over time to go on a long winning run. Garcia is a big lightweight who will have a 3″ height and 2.5″ reach advantage against Lopes. Garcia fights aggressively with a varied striking arsenal, mixing in punches, kicks, knees, elbows into his high-volume combinations, while also having good ground‑and‑pound. Fifteen of his nineteen wins are by strikes, but while he’s dangerous and in good form he has lost five times in his career and has had some difficulties with being outwrestled.

I think Lopes has the stamina and durability to cope with Garcia’s aggressive pace, but it will be his advantage on the mat that will eventually be the difference-maker here as time goes on, leading him to a submission win in the 3rd round.

Pick: Diego Lopes wins by submission in Rd3.