Ilia Topuria is set to defend his lightweight world championship against Justin Gaethje in the headline bout of the upcoming UFC White House event. The co-main event will feature Alex Pereira moving up to the heavyweight division to face Ciryl Gane for the interim title on June 14, as current champion Tom Aspinall is recovering from double eye surgery. Notably absent from the card is Conor McGregor, who disclosed that he was not included and is expected to make his return to the octagon on July 11.
Michael Chandler will also be part of the event, competing against Mauricio Ruffy. Additionally, former bantamweight world champion Sean O’Malley is scheduled to fight Aiemann Zahabi. The six-fight lineup is completed by Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus and Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia.
UFC CEO Dana White expressed enthusiasm for the event, highlighting the competitive matchups, particularly Pereira’s opportunity to claim multiple titles. He praised the Topuria-Gaethje fight as a potentially explosive encounter. White acknowledged the challenges in finalizing the card but affirmed that everything is in place for a thrilling event in Washington, D.C.
Regarding Aspinall’s future, White remained non-committal, hinting at a potential matchup between Pereira and Aspinall depending on the outcome of Pereira’s fight against Gane. The announcement also confirmed that Jon Jones will not be making a dramatic return to face Pereira following the Brazilian fighter’s decision to vacate his light-heavyweight title and move up in weight class.