On Friday evening, from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the last UFC Freedom 250 press conference took place, and in addition to each fighter getting their time on the mic, Dana White announced some big news for Sunday’s top performers.
In the main event from the South Lawn of the White House, Ilia Topuria is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje, who secured interim championship status with his unanimous decision victory over Paddy Pimblett earlier this year. In the co-feature, Alex Pereira will make his heavyweight debut as he seeks to capture gold in a third division when he meets Ciryl Gane for the interim belt.
For the unique experience because of the location of the press conference, the entire event was quite a spectacle, with fighters making their walkouts down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, lined by uniformed military officers. This press conference gave a taste of what’s to come at the White House on Sunday, with a change of scenery, personnel, and the overall feel of the happenings that surround UFC Freedom 250, compared to other major events.
The fighters made their entrances for the UFC White House press conference walking down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kgfTFCTGRc
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 13, 2026
UFC lead broadcaster and roaming reporter Megan Olivi was also in attendance at the event, conducting brief interviews with fighters in different monumental positions on site. During her time with Justin Gaethje, the interim lightweight titleholder himself even seemed blown away by how surreal fight week has been so far.
“This whole thing is good vibes. All of it, crazy.” Gaethje said, after briefly being taken aback by the view.
Justin Gaethje is ready for UFC FREEDOM 250! 🇺🇸 #UFCWhiteHouse | Sunday | Stream TNT Sports on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/wEcQgHWxOt
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) June 13, 2026
Things got heated between the main event competitors when it came time to face off for the cameras, as lightweight champion Ilia Topuria started things by quickly shoving Gaethje. The American responded by not overreacting and instead decided to avoid Topuria getting under his skin.
“Look where we are at right now,” Gaethje said after being separated from his opponent. “Look at this beautiful view, and you want to act like an animal?”
Ilia Topuria just pushed Justin Gaethje 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ectZ3r0uj4
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) June 13, 2026
During UFC CEO Dana White’s time at the mic, he announced that in partnership with Liberty Financial, performance bonuses for fighters will be increased from their usual amounts. For most standard UFC events, two $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonuses are up for grabs, as well as two $100,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses. Being the special occasion that UFC Freedom 250 is, what’s up for grabs at this event is a substantially higher amount.
“Two fighters who earn Fight of the Night are going to earn $400,000 each. Then the two Performance [of the Night] bonuses will get $425,000 each. Congratulations everybody, good luck.”
Dana White says Liberty Financial is adding $250K to the post fight bonus.#UFCWhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/nUpdVlQzfS
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 13, 2026
UFC Freedom 250 – Sunday, June 14th, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Paramount+
- Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje – Lightweight Title Unification
- Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane – Interim Heavyweight Title
- Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi – Bantamweight
- Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler – Lightweight
- Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus – Middleweight
- Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia – Featherweight
- Derrick Lewis vs. Josh Hokit – Heavyweight