Sunday night’s special event delivered in just about every way imaginable for fans

UFC Freedom 250 was one for the history books. The event set on the South Lawn of the White House delivered nothing but knockouts on Sunday night with all seven fights resulting in stoppages.
Nothing was bigger than the main event, though, as Justin Gaethje earned his first full UFC world title in his stunning upset of Ilia Topuria. Gaethje survived a series of nasty body shots from Topuria that dropped him in the second round to hand out incredible punishment and damage to Topuria’s face. So much so that Topuria’s corner stopped the fight after the fourth round. Gaethje, who previously held the interim title at lightweight twice, now goes in the pantheon of all-time greats in the division with his upset win.
In the co-main event, Ciryl Gane reminded many why weight classes matter in tearing apart two-division champion Alex Pereira. Gane, who also previously held the interim heavyweight title, regained that crown with his second-round stoppage of Pereira after piecing him up with kicks and punches. Now, Gane could be staring down a rematch with Tom Aspinall to unify the divisional crown.
Elsewhere, Diego Lopes, Bo Nickal, Mauricio Ruffy, Josh Hokit and Sean O’Malley also scored impressive wins by stoppage.
CBS Sports was with you all week long with the latest news, features and other content around this historically massive event. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 329 in Las Vegas for the return of Conor McGregor.
UFC Freedom 250 fight card, results
- Justin Gaethje def. Ilia Topuria (c) via fourth-round TKO (corner stoppage)
- Ciryl Gane (ic) def. Alex Pereira via second-round TKO (punches)
- Sean O’Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi via second-round TKO (punches)
- Josh Hokit def. Derrick Lewis via second-round TKO (punches)
- Mauricio Ruffy def. Michael Chandler via first-round TKO (punches)
- Bo Nickal def. Kyle Daukaus via first-round TKO (punches)
- Diego Lopes def. Steve Garcia via second-round TKO (punches)
UFC Freedom 250 countdown
- Complete viewer’s guide for Sunday’s action
- All fighters on weight for event, Lopes weighs in twice as backup
- Staff predictions and expert picks for every fight on the card
- Brookhouse: Ranking the greatest 25 American fighters in UFC history
- Mahjouri: Topuria opens up about ‘tough’ public divorce
- Brookhouse: Best bets to consider in each fight on Sunday
- Campbell: Pereira nearing MMA immortality with Teixeira leading the way
- Brookhouse: The most unique venues in MMA history ahead of The White House
- Hummer: How Hokit transformed from college football walk-on to breakout star
- Campbell: An inside look at how the White House event structure came together
- Mahjouri: Gaethje blames Topuria for sparking family drama ahead of title fight
- Mahjouri: Undercard fights to watch this weekend
- Topuria says Gaethje “crossed the line” with comments about ex-wife
- Campbell: Five biggest storylines to follow in Washington D.C.










































