TheOctagonlanded on the South Lawn of the White House as the UFC took center stage with a special one-off event, UFC Freedom 250, in Washington DC.
Here are our power rankings for the night’s top five biggest winners at UFC Freedom 250.
There can only be one man in the top spot this week. Justin Gaethje always delivers exciting, fan-friendly performances, but at the White House, “The Highlight” claimed the biggest highlight win of his career as he dethroned the previously undefeatedIlia Topuriato unify the lightweight title.
Gaethje was a sizeable underdog ahead of his bout with Topuria, and in the second round, those odds would only have gotten bigger, as the Spanish champion looked close to finishing Gaethje to register the first defense of his 155-pound title.
But Gaethje is made of stronger stuff, and fought through the pain barrier to eventually turn the tables on Topuria and force his corner to pull him out of the fight after the fourth round.
It meant that Gaethje finally captured undisputed champion status, and secured him a chunky double-bonus payout in the process.
France’sCiryl Ganereunited with the interim heavyweight championship after welcoming former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira to the heavyweight class with a second-round TKO finish.
Much was made of Pereira’s punch power, and whether his knockout touch inMMA gloveswould carry up to the heavyweight division. But as the fight progressed, it was Gane who was landing the leather much more frequently, and accurately, as the Frenchman enjoyed a hugely encouraging first round.
Gane then followed up in the second as he connected with big shots on “Poatan” to eventually stop him 87 seconds into the second stanza.
It gave Gane a massive victory, put a championship belt around his waist, and cemented him as the division’s clear number-one contender to faceTom Aspinallwhen the Englishman returns from double eye surgery later this year.
Source: LowKickMMA.com
