Official UFC Freedom 250 Main Card Revealed During UFC 326 Main Card
Shortly after Drew Dober knocked out Michael ‘The Menace’ Johnson at UFC 326’s main card, the UFC officially announced the main card for UFC Freedom 250 on June 14th, later this year. The undercard has yet to be released. During his cameo in the booth with Joe Rogan, Dana White talked about the struggles the matchmaking team had in putting the card together, saying the team had to work as late as Friday, March 6th, before UFC 326. Despite the difficulties for the matchmaking team, the main card is loaded with six fights. Five of the six bouts include top-15 contenders in various weight divisions. The co-main event and main events have important straps on the line.
Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia
Former featherweight title contender and second-ranked UFC featherweight Diego Lopes will look to bounce back with a fight against Steve ‘Mean Machine’ Garcia. Lopes has lost two of his last three bouts against UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski. While he has taken out top 10 contenders in the division, his title defeats have created more distance between him and a third title shot for the foreseeable future. Across the cage is ninth-ranked Garcia. ‘Mean Machine’ has won his last seven fights, six of which by way of KO/TKO. He has shot up to become a top 10 contender in the Featherweight Division, and he looks to gain momentum to crack into the top five.
Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukus
Top prospect Bo Nickal looks to continue his momentum to the top of the Middleweight Division against UFC veteran Kyle Daukaus. Nickal bounced back after his only professional MMA loss. While unranked, Nickal has impressed with his ground game and submission prowess. Daukaus is on a two-fight win streak and has a bout on the UFC 327 card. Winning both bouts could line Daukaus up in a fight against a top-15 middleweight contender.
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler
Ninth-ranked UFC lightweight Mauricio Ruffy will look to continue his tear in the Lightweight Division against former three-time Bellator Lightweight Champion and 13th-ranked UFC lightweight ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. Ruffy bounced back from his only UFC loss with a KO/TKO victory against Rafael ‘Ataman’ Fiziev. Chandler has fought the best the division has to offer today with multiple fight bonuses since his UFC debut. Unfortunately, he has lost his last three fights in spectacular fashion. The MMA veteran will look to gain another fight bonus, this time on the winning end.
Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi
This is likely a title eliminator bout for the men’s UFC Bantamweight Championship. Who knows if former men’s Bantamweight Champion Merab ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili will get an immediate rematch with current two-time men’s Bantamweight Champion Petr ‘No Mercy’ Yan. Another former champ, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley, looks to regain the gold against the red-hot Aiemann Zahabi. O’Malley won his last bout in dominant fashion, giving fight fans a big sign that he is still an elite contender in the division. Meanwhile, Zahabi has won his last seven fights, with his most notable win over former Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Beating another former champion would cement Zahabi as a top contender.
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship
For the second time this decade, the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship will be on the line. After dominating two divisions in the UFC, Former UFC Middleweight and former two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira makes his debut in the Heavyweight Division at a time when it desperately needs a shakeup. Former UFC heavyweight title challenger and the first-ranked UFC heavyweight, Ciryl ‘Bon Gamin’ Gane, welcomes ‘Poatan’ into the division. The winner of the co-main event bout will take on Tom Aspinall in his potentially last fight in the UFC. Both men are prolific strikers. This fight almost guarantees multiple bonuses, and fight fans hope to see the Heavyweight Division rise back into glory. The road to more ‘Poatan’ glory and a belt in a third division officially starts.
Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria
The main event of UFC Freedom 250 will see Interim Lightweight Champion Justin ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje get another shot at the lightweight gold against Lightweight Champion Ilia ‘El Matador’ Topuria. ‘The Highlight’ had an incredible vintage performance against rising star Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett to main event UFC 324. This could be one of the last fights in Gaethje’s illustrious MMA career as he turns 38 in November. ‘El Matador’ is coming off an unreal first-round knockout over Charles ‘Do Bronxs’ Olivera at the main event of UFC 317. Both men are pressure fighters who love to stand and throw calculated haymakers. Gaethje throws caution to the wind sometimes and throws wild haymakers. He has only been taken out by the elite MMA fighters. Topuria does have a well-developed ground game that hasn’t been showcased for a while. We also saw what he did to an elite striker in Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway. These styles clash perfectly. If this fight goes to the judges like Holloway vs. Olivera 2 did, that would be a massive surprise. Expect this fight to generate multiple bonuses and accolades among the UFC business people and the MMA community.
