By the time Justin Gaethje pummeled his bloodied foe to a pulp and celebrated a championship win with a backflip off the top of the wire-mesh cage, then shook hands with President Donald Trump — and even fist-bumped Melania — this much about his company’s future was clear to the ultimate boss of UFC.
Justin Gaethje outslugged and outlasted Ilia Topuria, forcing the heavy favorite to retire on his stool at the end of Round 4 on his way to capturing the undisputed UFC lightweight championship.
MMA star Alex Pereira tipped the scales at 251 pounds on Saturday just over 24 hours before he meets Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on Sunday night.
One by one, the burly mixed martial arts fighters made their entrance past the solemn, hulking marble statue of America’s 16th president and jogged down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to roars from thousands of fans drawn to the unusual sporting weekend marking the nation’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
A federal judge refused on Friday to stop the White House from staging a UFC show this weekend in an elaborate ring already built on the South Lawn to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary — on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
Before Sunday's fight card, here are the storylines, stats and fight picks for UFC at the White House.
It looks from afar more UFO than UFC.
Aiemann Zahabi is working up a sweat inside the octagon at Tristar Gym, a famed mixed martial arts training centre 11 kilometres north of downtown Montreal. A couple of weeks out from the biggest fight of his life, he cycles through jabs and kicks with his older brother and coach, Firas.
UFC CEO Dana White struck down middleweight champoin Sean Strickland's claim that he has been banned from attending Sunday's White House event, telling reporters Tuesday, "Literally nobody has been banned."
UFC president Dana White has said Tom Aspinall would "100%" be fighting Alex Pereira at the White House this weekend had he not been injured.
A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
UFC president Dana White believes two-weight UFC champion Alex Pereira will surpass Jon Jones as the greatest MMA fighter of all time if he beats Ciryl Gane on June 14 at the White House.
The UFC and Paramount plan to expand their partnership into Canada next year, the mixed martial arts organization said Thursday.
The UFC at the White House stage is a 92-foot-tall behemoth usually reserved for music festival headliners.
A judge has deemed former UFC star B.J. Penn mentally fit to stand for trial in a pending domestic violence case.
China's Song Yadong submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round of their bantamweight bout at Saturday's UFC event in Macau.
Yet another White House construction project is underway, though this one is meant to be only temporary.
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel flashed some skills as a fighter in his MMA debut, stopping social media influencer Bob Menery in the first round before saying one fight was "good enough."
Scott Coker, the former CEO of Strikeforce and Bellator, is launching a new MMA venture with competition expected to begin in 2027.
Colby Covington, one of the best and most polarizing welterweights of the past decade, has informed the UFC of his decision to retire.
Ronda Rousey stopped Gina Carano with her signature armbar just 17 seconds into the iconic fighters’ mixed martial arts comeback bout Saturday night.
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