The UFC descended upon the nation’s capital for a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The hype was real with a seven-fight card stacked with intrigue, including Alex Pereira’s bid to become a three-division world champion against Ciryl Gane and Ilia Topuria defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje.
But in a rare MMA moment, the fight card exceeded expectations with every fight ending by knockout for the first time. Not all were created equal. Mauricio Ruffy’s one-sided destruction of Michael Chandler was totally different from Gaethje’s all-out battle with Topuria to claim the undisputed lightweight championship in his third try.
Nevertheless, while the extraordinary backdrop of the White House made this a spectacle, the fights delivered, and UFC Freedom 250 could be the front-runner for fight card of the year.
After every UFC numbered event, ESPN assesses the quality of each fight and the overall card and gives letter grades based on skill displayed, competitiveness and stakes.
Lightweight championship: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje
Result: Gaethje defeats Topuria by fourth-round TKO
Grade: A+
By now, there’s an expectation that when Gaethje fights, it’s must-see television. This fight went a step beyond that with an epic encounter that defined what an all-out battle looks like. The previously undefeated Topuria had never been in that kind of fight, which greatly benefited Gaethje. The degree of violence between Topuria’s body work and Gaethje’s uppercuts was wince-inducing. The element of danger hung over every second, with the combatants having severe ebbs and flows. It seemed as though either fighter could be finished at any given moment. But Gaethje persevered and pulled off a stunning finish by bludgeoning Topuria into retiring on his stool after Round 4. This was an absolute must-watch bout and thus far has only one rival for fight of the year, Josh Hokit and Curtis Blaydes’ epic April encounter.
Interim heavyweight championship: Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira
Result: Gane defeats Pereira by second-round TKO
Grade: A-
What was expected to be a crowning moment for Pereira ended in disaster for him, as Gane poked, prodded and eventually clobbered his way to his second interim championship. It was nip and tuck early until Gane settled in with his jab to set up an impressive finishing sequence in Round 2. Gane sat down Pereira with a hard jab and went for the finish. To Pereira’s credit, he somehow absorbed the punishment and made it to his feet. But Gane wouldn’t be denied and blitzed Pereira to become the first man to knock him out since Israel Adesanya stopped him in their 2023 middleweight title fight. When two high-caliber heavyweight strikers engage, it’s usually worth your time.
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
Result: Ruffy defeats Chandler by first-round TKO
Grade: A-
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This was the definition of “styling on” an opponent. Chandler was no match for Ruffy, who took his time to set up a brilliant finish. Despite his losing streak, Chandler has been competitive in most of his past three outings, bringing the fight to his opponents. He tried to do the same against Ruffy but got dissected and destroyed for his troubles. A spinning heel kick that wrecked Chandler’s equilibrium started it, a body shot nearly finished it, then another spinning heel kick ended it. Ruffy remains one of the best finishers in MMA.
Men’s bantamweight: Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
Sean O’Malley, right, eared his first knockout win since 2023, beating Aiemann Zahabi, left, at UFC Freedom 250. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLCResult: O’Malley defeats Zahabi by second-round KO
Grade: BWelcome back, Sean O’ Malley. It has been a while since we saw the walk-off knockout artist known as The Suga Show. He returned to form with a wicked second-round knockout that concluded with a salute to the crowd while Zahabi was on the way to the canvas. It took a while to get there, though, because Zahabi was committed to chopping down O’Malley with leg kicks for long stretches of the fight. The first round wasn’t pretty, but O’Malley was waiting for his opportunity to pounce and land his counter hook. When he found it, he took it, reminding everyone why he was considered a fast-rising star. He endured an odd round and a half of leg-kick action, and it was paid off with an excellent finish.Middleweight: Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
Result: Nickal defeats Daukaus by first-round TKO
Grade: B
This was a thoroughly dominant and impressive outing by Nickal, who continues to improve and show he isn’t a one-dimensional wrestler. It was a complete performance in a clinical outing. Nickal put Daukaus on his back with his wrestling before striking to get the job done. Nickal landed a solid left hand then a short right hook to put Daukaus down and collect his fifth UFC finish
Featherweight: Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
Diego Lopes beat Steve Garcia by second-round knockout to retain his No. 1 featherweight contender status at Freedom 250 on Sunday night. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCResult: Lopes defeats Garcia by second-round KO
Grade: BAfter an initial round of uncharacteristic hesitation, Lopes bit down on his mouthpiece and threw hands with Garcia. That decision paid dividends in a wild finish, as Lopes pressed forward and engaged in a thrilling, albeit brief, slugfest with Garcia. Lopes asked for a brawl, and Garcia obliged, which spelled his demise. During a wild exchange, Lopes slammed a short left hook that dropped Garcia and chased it with ground-and-pound for a thrilling conclusion to the first UFC fight at the White House. Maybe it was big-stage jitters that kept Lopes from unleashing early, but once he decided to go for it, everyone watching got a fantastic finish.Heavyweight: Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis
Result: Hokit defeats Lewis by second-round TKO
Grade: B-
This grade has nothing to do with Hokit, who did exactly what he was supposed to do against Lewis. Instead, it was Lewis who looked lethargic and unmotivated against an opponent who verbally assaulted him at every turn. Hokit impressed again with his speed and wrestling to own every moment of the fight. He took down Lewis with ease, and Lewis appeared to simply accept being in bad positions. Hokit blasted Lewis with ground-and-pound and even went for an armbar finish at the end of Round 1, while Lewis looked as if he just wanted the fight to end. After bouncing a bevy of punches off of Lewis’ head, the end came mercifully. Who knows what was going on with Lewis, but this was a woeful performance from the UFC’s knockout king.
UFC Freedom 250 grade: A-
What’s not to like when every bout on a seven-fight card ends by stoppage? There wasn’t much to complain about, outside of Lewis’ lethargic performance. If you really wanted to nitpick, you could say some fights were a little too one-sided. But this fight card had high expectations and delivered with spectacular knockouts, anchored by a sure fight of the year candidate between Gaethje and Topuria. It’s going to be difficult to knock this card out of the top spot for event of the year.
