Justin Gaethje pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history Monday at the White House. He beat Ilia Topuria to win the lightweight title and handed the former champion his first professional loss.
Jon Anik called it “one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport.” It’s hard to argue.
For a while, Topuria looked like he was going to win. He attacked Gaethje’s body with hooks in the second round and went for submissions. He controlled the action until the bell. Gaethje went back to his corner exhausted, just hoping to survive the full fight.
Instead, he found something extra.
Midway through the third round, Gaethje landed a huge right hand. Topuria was already beat up, and suddenly he was in real trouble.
Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said: “We’ve never seen Ilia Topuria like this before.”
A head kick at the end of the round forced the doctor to check on Topuria. But Topuria protested. The referee waved for the fight to continue. Cormier called it crazy. Topuria’s corner called it off at the end of the fourth round. His face was bloodied, with a cut on his right eyebrow from a Gaethje uppercut.
Gaethje was a heavy underdog going in. After winning, he did a flip and shouted:
“I’m from America. 250 years ago we were way bigger than 6-to-1 dogs and look at us now.”
He thanked military members, first responders, police officers, firefighters, and EMTs.
“All glory to God. I prayed so much for this opportunity to do something legendary. And I know that was absolutely legendary because I cannot even believe it. Wow.”
UFC White House Results
Featherweight: Diego Lopes def. Steve Garcia
Lopes gave up the first round but ended things in brutal fashion. After taking a right hand, he landed a left hook that dropped Garcia, then finished him with heavy ground-and-pound. Referee Mike Beltran stepped in to save Garcia, who was unconscious. The win was Lopes’ first since losing two title shots to Alexander Volkanovski.
Middleweight: Bo Nickal def. Kyle Daukaus
Nickal used his elite wrestling early, taking Daukaus down and controlling from the top. After the referee stood them up, Nickal dropped Daukaus on the feet and finished with strikes on the ground. The former Penn State national champ improved to 8-1 and shook hands with Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg after the win.
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy def. Michael Chandler
Ruffy overwhelmed the 40-year-old veteran. After stunning Chandler with a spinning back kick, he landed a spinning heel kick, followed by uppercuts and body shots. With Chandler on his knees defenseless, Ruffy put him away. After the win, Ruffy dropped to one knee and proposed to his girlfriend right there in the Octagon. She said yes.
Heavyweight: Josh Hokit def. Derrick Lewis
Hokit dominated Lewis from start to finish, taking him down and nearly submitting him with an armbar in the first round. By the second, Lewis was exhausted and could barely stand. Hokit remained undefeated at 10-0 and later made controversial remarks about former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Bantamweight: Sean O’Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi
Zahabi’s only weapon was inside low kicks. O’Malley switched stances to neutralize them, then found his range. In the second round, he dropped Zahabi with a straight left, then put him down for good with a right hand. He then left the cage to fist-bump the commentary booth and wish Trump a happy 80th birthday.
Interim Heavyweight: Ciryl Gane def. Alex Pereira
Pereira was trying to become the first fighter in UFC history to win titles in three different weight classes (middleweight, light heavyweight, and now heavyweight). Gane dropped him in the second round and then teed off with punches and short elbows. Pereira was split open under his right eye and badly hurt before referee Herb Dean stepped in. Gane became interim heavyweight champion for the second time and is now lined up for a rematch with injured champion Tom Aspinall.
Lightweight: Justin Gaethje def. Ilia Topuria
Gaethje was a huge underdog. Topuria came in 17-0 and was expected to win easily. But Gaethje bloodied Topuria’s face in the first round. Topuria dropped Gaethje with body shots in the second and went for submissions, but couldn’t finish him. Gaethje came back in the third and fourth rounds, landing huge shots that left Topuria’s face barely recognizable. Between the fourth and fifth rounds, Topuria’s corner called it off. He couldn’t see out of his badly swollen eye. This was his first undisputed championship.
FAQs
Q. Who won the UFC Freedom 250 main event?
A. Justin Gaethje shocked the MMA world by defeating Ilia Topuria via corner stoppage .
Q. What happened in the co-main event?
A. Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Pereira by stoppage to win the interim heavyweight title.
Q. What did Gaethje say after becoming champion?
A. Gaethje said he had prayed for the opportunity to do something legendary and called the victory hard to believe.
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