Justin Gaethje and Ciryl Gane secured championship titles in a historic UFC event held on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sunday night. The UFC Freedom 250 featured two title fights, both concluding with decisive knockouts that underscored the high stakes of the occasion.

Gaethje prevailed in a fiercely contested lightweight unification bout against previously undefeated Ilia Topuria. The match unfolded as a brutal back-and-forth battle, with Topuria initially controlling the early exchanges through a powerful straight right. Gaethje responded by inflicting a cut above Topuria’s right eyebrow and leveraging his wrestling background alongside aggressive striking. After four intense rounds, Topuria’s corner stopped the fight, awarding Gaethje the undisputed lightweight championship.

Gaethje reflected on the significance of the victory, noting the symbolic nature of the event and the odds he had overcome. “I’m from America; 250 years ago, we were way bigger than 6-to-1 ’dogs, and look at us thriving now,” he said after the fight.

Earlier in the evening, Ciryl Gane captured the vacant interim heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage of Alex Pereira. Gane’s performance rounded out an evening marked by an all-knockout lineup, further adding to the spectacle of the event.

The fighters’ walkouts added a unique historical element to the occasion, as both Gaethje and Topuria made their entrances starting from the Oval Office itself, pausing briefly past portraits of every U.S. president before stepping into the cage set up on the White House lawn.

The event represented an unusual and symbolic setting for the UFC, combining the sport’s intense physicality with the backdrop of American history and heritage. UFC Freedom 250 will be remembered for both its location and the dramatic championship outcomes that took place in the nation’s capital.