Justin Gaethje has revealed he was told just 48 hours before UFC 326 that he was “definitely not” competing on the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House on June 14.
Gaethje only learned he was headlining against UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria when the official promo aired on the big screen in Las Vegas this past Saturday. UFC CEO Dana White admitted the process of booking the first-ever event on the White House South Lawn was a “nightmare” that had him “sweating bullets.” White revealed that a major bout he was banking on fell apart just hours before the announcement. While he didn’t name names, speculation suggests the promotion was originally working on Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev.
“Two days ago, I got a call and they said ‘you’re definitely not fighting on the White House card’ so I was like all right, cool. Then yesterday I got a call and they said ‘you might hear something, you might be on the White House card.’ How are you going to go a complete 180 turn on me. Then today I found out I was on it. I didn’t know if I was main event or what. I think a lot of things are always moving when they’re putting these things together,” Gaethje said