Posted on: June 15, 2026, 04:20h.
Last updated on: June 15, 2026, 04:20h.
American Justin Gaethje, a +360-underdog heading into his UFC lightweight unification title fight against Ilia Topuria last night, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent UFC history, a fourth-round knockout at UFC Freedom 250, handing the Spaniard his first-ever UFC loss.
Diego Lopes of Brazil reacts to his win over Steve Garcia in a middleweight fight during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn at the White House last night in Washington, DC. (Image: Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)Relentless Performance by Gaethje
In a makeshift Octagon built for reportedly $60 million on the South Lawn of the White House, in front of 4,300 mostly service men and women, and another 80,000 people watching live on large screens in overflow areas on The Ellipse and National Mall, fans witnessed a stereotypical, relentless Gaethje performance, where the American delivered a prolonged four-round beating on the lightweight champion.
Battered, his face nearly unrecognizable, Topuria couldn’t get up from his corner stool at the end of the fourth round. At the post-fight news conference, UFC President and CEO Dana White confirmed Topuria was at the hospital, with what White suspected was a broken orbital bone.
“In the third round when I started landing those jabs and he started finding his back foot, I knew something was different,” said Gaethje during the news conference.
Devastating Loss
Topuria had come into the fight after seven months off due to a personal matter. Topuria had a 17-0 professional MMA record going in, and had made his mark with a series of devastating wins – including a first-round knockout over Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title in June 2025, and knocking out Max Holloway in October 2024 to defend his featherweight title.
He also had a second-round knockout over Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024 to capture the UFC featherweight crown. Many observers were labelling him the most talented pound-for-pound fighter in UFC.
Gaethje has been in the UFC since 2017, after arriving from the World Series of Fighting. He won the interim lightweight title for the second time in his career in dramatic fashion last January in an unanimous decision over Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
So after nine years in UFC, Gaethje finally has the undisputed lightweight belt.
Always the Underdog
“I’m going to enjoy this win,” said Gaethje. “I’ve been counted out so bad. In 16 fights in the UFC, I’ve been an underdog at least 11 or 12 times. Every single fight almost. And I’m 9-2 as an underdog. I love being in this position.”
Johnny Avello, Director of Sports Operations, DraftKings, said the White House event capped a whirlwind Sunday on the sports betting front.
“Despite going up against the World Cup and Game 6 of Stanley Cup, UFC Freedom 250 generated significant betting interest, with Topuria – Gaethje leading the way to close out a jam-packed sports weekend,” he said.
Great Night for Bettors
John Ewing, a spokesperson from BetMGM, told Casino.org UFC Freedom 250 “drove a lot of action from bettors”.
The Topuria-Gaethje fight was the most bet and a great result for customers as Gaethje was the most popular underdog to win. Heading into the fight at BetMGM, Gaethje at +360 was the most bet fighter, both for tickets and handle. Gaethje by KO/TKO was +550 going in.
Ciryl Gane beating Alex Pereira in a heavyweight interim title bout, with Tom Aspinall still nursing an eye injury, was the best result for the sportsbook, added Ewing. Pereira was a popular pick and Gane winning broke up many parlays.
Never Again, Said White
UFC Freedom 250 was a massive logistical undertaking that took just under a year of planning, after President Donald Trump announced in a speech last July that a UFC fight would be held on the South Lawn of the White House to help celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Trump, celebrating his 80th birthday, sat ringside alongside White. There were seven bouts last night, including the two title fights.
“This was an amazing experience, a one-of-one that will never happen again,” White said during the post-fight news conference. “I can’t afford it. There’s no f&%#*&% way we can do this again. We’ll never do the Sphere again [in Las Vegas, where the UFC had an event in 2024] and we’ll never do this again. I’m always looking to go to great arenas with good technology and give fans that show up the best experience I possibly can.”
Other than Gaethje’s career-defining upset, other top storylines were Gane derailing Pereira’s quest to win UFC titles in three separate weight classes, with a second round KO, and Mauricio Ruffy’s dominance over Michael Chandler in another lightweight division bout, with a first round KO.
McGregor Is Up Next
In fact what stood out was a remarkable run of stoppages, with Gaethje-Topuria, Gane-Pereira, Ruffy-Chandler, Sean O’Malley-Aiemann Zahabi, Josh Hokit-Derrick Lewis, Bo Nickal-Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes-Steve Garcia all ending before the judges were needed, one of the more action-packed cards in a long while.
Gaethje wouldn’t confirm those retirement rumours, and now owning the belt, with Topuria and Ruffy also lightweight challengers, and names like Pimblett, Holloway, Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan out there, that division is in its best shape since the Conor McGregor heyday.
Speaking of McGregor, at DraftKings, he’s a +250 underdog for his July 12 UFC flyweight fight against Holloway (-310). McGregor hasn’t been in the Octagon since 2021, when he lost to Dustin Poirier, breaking his leg in the fight.
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