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UFC stars Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, alongside Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, had their first face-off ahead of their upcoming bouts at a special event in Washington, where they also met with President Donald Trump.
Next month, the UFC will make history by hosting a fight night on the White House lawn, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States. The event, dubbed UFC Freedom 250, will feature a historic co-main event where Alex Pereira aims to become the first fighter to win titles in three different UFC weight classes. He is set to challenge Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt.
In the main event of the evening, lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will defend his title against interim champion Justin Gaethje. Both fighters were also present at the event and reportedly had a face-off, though initial photos were not released. All four fighters had a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
“I’m a big sports fan,” President Trump stated. “There are no tougher people in sports than these people behind me. These are the toughest people... On June 14th, we’re going to have a big fight. This will never happen again; it’s never happened before. You have the greatest fighters here, the four greatest standing behind me, all champions, and it’s going to be right in front of the White House... It’s going to be the greatest show on Earth.”
Hours after the Oval Office meeting, the UFC released a video showing Topuria and Gaethje also facing off for the first time on the White House lawn.
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