Since 2017, we’ve been publishing our staff picks for the main cards of most major, and a handful of smaller, MMA events, from the UFC to Bellator to the PFL. On Sunday, with the arrival of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House and its seven-fight card, we’re picking for the entire line-up.
The fight world has been waiting for this event for roughly a year. An unthinkable show, the first-ever professional sporting event to be hosted on the White House grounds. Yes, winning teams from the NBA, NHL, and so on have visited the White House. The President has phoned Super Bowl champions in years past.
But the UFC, once called “human cockfighting” by the late Republican Senator and presidential candidate John McCain, is going one step further and making history.
Much has been said about the lack of star power on the card: No Jon Jones or Conor McGregor (the first being retired, the second making his return next month during International Fight Week). Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje promises to be a banger, however. Josh Hokit is coming off a Fight of the Year effort, and now has to contend with the UFC’s knockout king in Derrick Lewis. Alex Pereira is arguably the UFC’s biggest star these days, at least until McGregor gets back, and he’s looking to claim gold in a third weight class, in an interim heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane.
There are plenty of fighting storylines. There are plenty of political ones. There’s only one night of fights at the White House, barring severe weather delays, and that’s tonight. Our picks are in, so let’s see how we predict things will play out at UFC Freedom 250.
| Writer / Fight | Lopes vs. Garcia | Nickal vs. Daukaus | Ruffy vs. Chandler | Hokit vs. Lewis | O'Malley vs. Zahabi | Pereira vs. Gane | Topuria vs. Gaethje |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathis Desjardins (63-26) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Alex Behunin (72-34) | | | | | | | |
| Brett Cagle (69-33) |  | | | | | | |
| Patrick Danna (51-27) | |  | | | |  | |
| Jay Anderson (65-41) | | |  | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (38-28) | | | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (61-45) | | | |  | | | |
Surprisingly or not, there was just two unanimous selections among our crew for UFC Freedom 250, and one of those was in the main event. No one feels that Justin Gaethje will pull off the upset of Ilia Topuria. To be fair, Gaethje is the underdog, but as one of the most violent men in MMA history, perhaps we’re overlooking him just a little.
The other landslide comes in Aiemann Zahabi vs. Sean O’Malley, with former bantamweight champ “Suga” Sean favored to win.
Every other fight had at least one dissenting opinion, though many are rather lopsided.
