UFC White House Predictions: Topuria vs Gaethje
The UFC heads to the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday, June 14, and UFC Freedom 250 has seven fights with two titles on the line.
A UFC Lightweight Championship unification bout will be headlining the night, with Ilia Topuria taking on Justin Gaethje at 155lbs to determine the undisputed Lightweight champ.
Alex Pereira will also be facing Ciryl Gane in the penultimate fight of the night with the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line. Elsewhere, the likes of Sean O’Malley, Michael Chandler and Bo Nickal will be rounding out what should be an eventful night, which has also included a potential lawsuit and Dana White having to respond publicly.
UFC Freedom 250 Predictions
The main event between Topuria and Gaethje is pretty tough to call, despite some of the oddsmakers thinking it’s a clear win for the reigning champ. Topuria is the best pure boxer in the division and his last three wins came by knockout over Volkanovski, Holloway, and Oliveira; but Gaethje has that chaos factor in his favor, he can genuinely finish a fight at any time with his knockout power. This could be a proper firefight, but I do still see Topuria taking it in the second round.
ORIGINAL: I also think that Gane is going to take it against Pereira. Gane (13-2) has arguably the best footwork and jab are the best in the division, is used to eating heavyweight power and walking through it, plus Pereira is not a natural heavyweight. I’d really like to see the Brazilian make history here as a three division champ, but sadly I don’t see it (I would like to see it though, so hoping I’m wrong here).
UPDATE: I’ve changed my mind. I think that Pereira is going to pull off the win here with a massive KO. If you want to see my full breakdown of the fight check it out here.
Here are my full predictions for the card this weekend from the White House lawn:
| Fight | My pick | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Topuria vs. Gaethje (LW title) | Ilia Topuria | KO/TKO, Rd 2 |
| Pereira vs. Gane (interim HW) | Pereira | KO |
| O’Malley vs. Zahabi (BW) | Sean O’Malley | Decision |
| Lewis vs. Hokit (HW) | Josh Hokit | TKO, Rd 2 |
| Ruffy vs. Chandler (LW) | Mauricio Ruffy | KO, Rd 1 |
| Nickal vs. Daukaus (MW) | Bo Nickal | Submission, Rd 2 |
| Lopes vs. Garcia (FW) | Diego Lopes | Decision |
Jake is the Head of Audience at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.