[Sports]

The day is finally here. In just a few hours, the UFC will host one of the most unique and anticipated events it’s ever done. Nearly one year after it was first teased by President Donald Trump, UFC Freedom 250 goes down on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.

The main event will see an undisputed UFC lightweight champion be crowned as reigning champion Ilia Topuria defends against interim champion Justin Gaethje.

Topuria claimed the championship by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last year. He’s been sidelined due to a custody battle. Gaethje became the UFC interim lightweight champion with a win over Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January. It’s Gaethje’s second reign as interim champion, and this will mark his third chance at undisputed lightweight gold.

An interim heavyweight champion will be crowned in the co-main event as Alex Pereira takes on Ciryl Gane. History is on the line in this bout, as a win by Pereira will make him the first fighter in UFC history to ever win championships in three different weight classes during their career.

Pereira reclaimed the light heavyweight title in his last fight, finishing Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320. Gane enters this fight off the no-contest he had with current heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall at UFC 321. Gane is a former interim champion and has had unsuccessful cracks at the undisputed gold against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.

The rest of the UFC Freedom 250 card will see Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis, Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler, Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia.

ILIA TOPURIA VS JUSTIN GAETHJE

It’s unanimously agreed that this might be Gaethje’s final chance to become undisputed champion – and he may just retire with a loss tonight. While he’ll have that motivation, he’s taking on one of the men consistently vying for the top spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Topuria has a strong ground game and Gaethje has a wrestling background – but those will be thrown out the window. With Topuria being an exciting fighter and Gaethje someone who wants to produce entertaining highlights, expect these two to throw leather until someone goes down and stays down.

While that should mean a fight that produces fireworks, if Topuria has even an ounce of the technical skill with him and Gaethje gets too wild, it’ll be Spain standing on top at night’s end.

BET: Topuria to win by KO/TKO in Rounds 1 OR 2 (FanDuel: +105)

ALEX PEREIRA VS CIRYL GANE

This line is pretty disrespectful to Pereira. Yes, he’s moving up to a new weight class and taking on the guy who was pushing Aspinall to a limit before the anticlimactic ending. But Pereira is not your average fighter; he’s one of the pound-for-pound best.

Pereira’s power didn’t leave him when jumping from middleweight to light heavyweight. And at the weigh-ins yesterday, he jumped up to a massive 251 pounds – a jacked 251. Gane might have that “last chance” pressure on him, but is he really ready for “Poatan”?

Gane will need to tie up and take down Pereira, make the most of grappling, to have the best chance to win. The more he chooses to trade, the more he risks seeing stars on the White House lawn.

BET: Pereira via KO/TKO (DraftKings & FanDuel: +150)

MAURICIO RUFFY VS MICHAEL CHANDLER

It’s interesting to think about how different Michael Chandler’s UFC career would have been if he finished Charles Oliveira and won the UFC lightweight title at UFC 262. Unfortunately, it’s been downhill for him since. Chandler is just 2-5 in the UFC and was unable to see the dream match with Conor McGregor come to fruition.

He now takes on Mauricio Ruffy, a dangerous lightweight contender who comes from the Fighting Nerds camp. Chandler needs to use his wrestling, but that might not be enough for him here. Ruffy is powerful, he’s speedy and accurate, and he just has more to offer as a fighter right now than Chandler. Chandler might have the post-fight bonuses, but he doesn’t have the Ws.

BET: Ruffy to win via KO/TKO AND Under 1.5 rounds (DraftKings: -125)