Gaethje shocks Topuria to win UFC lightweight title at White House event | Mixed Martial Arts

In perhaps the biggest upset in UFC history, Gaethje became the champion after Topuria’s corner stopped the fight.

American Justin Gaethje turned the tables on Ilia Topuriaachieve staggering success and claim the UFC lightweight crown at the “UFC Freedom 250” event in the sunny White House.

After Topuria (17-1) won the first two rounds on Sunday night, Gaethje (28-5) stunned the Spaniard with a sweeping right hand before following up with a vicious flurry that left his opponent’s face swollen and bloodied.

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Topuria appeared to have a vision problem and was checked by a doctor before the fourth round, but his corner threw in the towel in the final round.

“I can’t believe it … I knew I had to get through the first round, his skills are unmatched when he’s a freshman,” Gaethje said.

“But my perseverance, my perseverance and my heart carried me forward.”

The tournament was the headliner of the first sporting event to be held at the White House, a major part of US President Donald Trump’s celebrations of the country’s 250th anniversary.

In the main event, France’s Ciryl Gane dominated Brazil’s Alex Pereira before scoring a second-round victory to become the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.

Pereira, a former lightweight and middleweight champion, was looking to become the first UFC fighter to win titles in three divisions after moving up to heavyweight.

O’Malley beats Zahabi, Hokit stops Lewis

Sean O’Malley cemented his status as one of the most popular fighters in the US, defeating Aiemann Zahabi with a knockout that will be a major part of UFC highlights for years to come.

O’Malley, who has always been a showrunner, gave a military salute to the crowd of workers and presidential guests as Zahabi (14-3) fell to the canvas. The win puts O’Malley (20-3) back in the bantamweight division and could be next in line for champion Petr Yan, who called him out in a post-fight interview.

Josh Hokit continued his ascension to the heavyweight division, backing up his grappling streak by finishing UFC knockout king Derrick Lewis with a flurry of punches at 4:09 of the second round.

It was a great performance from Hokit going forward, as he nearly finished Lewis (29-14) several times in the first round and went on a 10-0 run.

Brazilian Mauricio Ruffy of the Fighting Nerds registered another decision, stopping 40-year-old Michael Chandler at 4:29 in the first round of their lightweight bout. Luffy (14-2) hurt Chandler (23-11) with a series of rounds and ended the fight with a final blow to Chandler’s head.

The fight could be the end of Chandler’s UFC career and it will reduce any chance he had of fighting Conor McGregor in the future, who he says he deserves to win.

Bo Nickal picked up his second straight win, finishing fellow American Kyle Daukaus with a vicious right followed by a pair of elbows at 4:34 of the first round in their middleweight fight. Nickal (9-1), a former All-American wrestler at Penn State, has now completed his three UFC wins by KO/TKO and is 6-1 in the UFC since his debut in 2023. Daukaus falls to 17-5.

After an hour delay due to rain, Brazilian featherweight Diego Lopes defeated Albuquerque’s Steve Garcia with explosive punches at 2:42 of the second round.

It was an impressive comeback for Lopes (28-8), who arguably lost a fight to featherweight Garcia (19-6) before making the decision to trade boxing with him.