On 14 June, the UFC will host an unprecedented fight card at the White House, as part of a celebration of 250 years of the United States.
Various stories around the event have emerged since last summer, but the fights themselves were confirmed on Saturday night, drawing a disappointed reaction from many fans.
The UFC had promised the greatest card in its history, with US president Donald Trump (who will turn 80 on the day of ‘UFC: Freedom 250’) predicting “eight to nine” fights – all of them for world titles.
Instead, fans will get six, five of which will feature US stars and two of which will be title bouts.
Is the card good enough? Let’s grade the fights themselves, then the event on the whole.
Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje
A title-unification fight in one of the UFC’s most-stacked divisions?! That sell makes it feel like a strong grade is incoming… but Gaethje is a heavy underdog here, with many fans expecting him to be knocked out by the unforgiving fists of Topuria. Of course, anything is possible in MMA, and in piecing up Paddy Pimblett for five rounds to collect the interim lightweight belt, Gaethje showed what he can do as an underdog. But Topuria is not Pimblett; he is a generational talent. Plus, Gaethje’s tendency to take huge risks and immense damage mean he’s tailor made for “El Matador” to add another highlight-reel KO to his unbeaten record.
Furthermore, Gaethje isn’t even the second-best lightweight in the world; that’s Arman Tsarukyan, who even has a claim to being the UFC’s best 155lb-er. Then there’s Islam Makhachev, who left the division to win welterweight gold, but whom many fans wished to see paired with Topuria in a battle of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Given those options were out there, it’s hard to grade this main event too highly. Grade: C+
Ciryl Gane vs Alex Pereira
Another example where there was at least one more-interesting option on the table (get used to that sentiment in this article). Once Pereira vacated the light-heavyweight belt last week, some fans thought a dream showdown with all-time great Jon Jones was on the cards – especially given Jones had just claimed he was in negotiations for a spot at the event. Instead, UFC president Dana White gave a conflicting report to Jones’s, saying the retired ex-champion was never on his mind, and we’ll get Pereira vs Gane for the interim heavyweight belt.
What works in this bout’s favour is that it’s interesting stylistically – Gane, a fleet-footed big man, against Pereira, a powerhouse moving up in weight – and marks Pereira’s long-awaited heavyweight debut. Furthermore, he could become the UFC’s first-ever three-weight champ (albeit with an interim belt), so there’s history on the line. Grade: B
Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi
As with Topuria and Pereira, US star O’Malley is one of the biggest names in the UFC and definitely should be fighting at this event. But against Zahabi? The Canadian is a more-than-competent opponent for ex-champ “Suga’ Sean” in this bantamweight clash, but O’Malley vs Cory Sandhagen was the obvious play here. That bout would’ve been an all-American contest between two sharpshooters, with real ramifications in the title picture. Or, you could have put O’Malley in a rematch with reigning champion Petr Yan, although Merab Dvalishvili claimed that Russian fighters were always unlikely to feature at the White House. Grade: C
Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler
Chandler is a big American name who always delivers excitement, and after he was teased with the prospect of a Conor McGregor fight for three years, God knows he deserves a spot at the White House. But here, he should have been given that bout with McGregor, who was pining for a place at this event, and who said he’d gladly face Chandler – two years after a broken toe ruled the Irishman out of their planned match-up. Instead, Chandler will take on flashy Brazilian striker Ruffy.
The bout is sure to deliver fireworks, so we’ll give the UFC credit there, but the expectation is that “Iron Mike” will fall victim to the rising star. It just feels a bit unfair… That said, we do understand that the UFC is operating at a loss on this event, and hypothetically saving McGregor for International Fight Week in July makes more financial sense. Grade: B-
Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus
This is perhaps the flattest match-up on the card. Yes, it’s an all-American bout; and yes, it sees two exciting middleweight prospects square off. But fans have soured somewhat on wrestler-turned-power-puncher Nickal, while they respect but don’t care too much about Daukaus. The winner will edge towards the title picture at 185lb, but this is hardly the kind of big-stakes fight that we were promised for 14 June. Grade: C
Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia
Here are the positives: Lopes always excites, and the match-up makes divisional sense at 145lb. Lopes is aiming to bounce back from two title-fight losses in his last three fights, and the Brazilian’s opponent here is a rising contender who represents the US. Tick, tick, tick. But while our counter-point isn’t especially dynamic, it holds true: this one just doesn’t get the juices flowing enough for the White House fight card. Lopes vs Garcia? Come on, now… This was meant to be the greatest card in UFC history. Grade: C+
Overall event grade: C+. We can see what the UFC was trying to do. Six fights is a smarter move than doing too many, especially given title bouts are scheduled for 25 minutes. And of the six fights, five feature US stars, including big homegrown names in Gaethje, O’Malley and Chandler. What’s more, Topuria and Pereira are two of the UFC’s biggest stars regardless of nationality. But while we’ve praised the UFC for the good elements it’s bringing to the White House, it’s so difficult not to focus on what is lacking.
Above are clear examples of better match-ups, and that’s without even disregarding some of these fights altogether to mention totally different athletes. By usual standards, this would be an A grade card for the UFC – maybe an A+ at a push. But not for an event of this magnitude.
