As promised by UFC CEO Dana White, UFC officials took a moment during Saturday’s UFC 326 card from Las Vegas, Nevada, to announce the official fight card lineup for the upcoming White House card. Fight fans have long wondered what the card would look like and with so many rumors swirling around the combat community nobody really knew for sure where the promotion would land.
Leading the UFC White House card will be a main event matchup between rising MMA superstar and UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria as he looks to unify belts with fan favorite and interim lightweight titleholder Justin Gaethje. Fight fans may have liked to see a lightweight matchup between Topuria and Paddy Pimblett more than Gaethje, but “Highlight” did more than enough at UFC 324 this past January to earn interim gold (highlights HERE) and his spot on the White House lawn.
The co-main event will be an interim heavyweight title fight between former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, and former interim UFC heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane. Many were expecting Pereira to be matched up against UFC legend Jon Jones for one of the biggest matchups in the sport, but I guess a deal couldn’t get done. An interim title fight between Pereira and Gane is still a solid consolation prize, especially since “Poatan” still has a chance to become the first UFC fighter to win titles in three different weight classes.
As expected, the UFC White House card will be even deeper than this. Check out the official lineup below and let us know your thoughts on what is being promoted as the “greatest card of all time.”
Ilia Topuria (c) vs. Justin Gaethje (ic) for the undisputed UFC lightweight championship
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight championship
Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus
Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
