Justin Gaethje Reveals Confusion Around UFC White House Event

American UFC fighter Justin Gaethje shared details about an unexpected situation surrounding his participation in the historic UFC event scheduled to take place at the White House on June 14. In a recent interview, Gaethje said he received contradictory information from the promotion within just 24 hours.

— On Thursday I got a call saying I wouldn’t be fighting at the White House event, and the next day, on Friday, they told me I would probably still be part of the card.

Gaethje’s comments came amid rumors about major changes to the event’s main fight. Earlier, insiders reported that a potential bout between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, which had initially been considered the main event, was canceled. The fight was expected to take place at welterweight (77 kg).

According to sources, on Friday one of the UFC executives, Hunter Campbell, reacted sharply when an assistant informed him that the fight had fallen through. That same day Gaethje received a call saying he might become part of the White House event.

Possible Consequences for Tsarukyan

If the fight between Topuria and Makhachev had actually taken place and the Georgian champion had permanently moved to the welterweight division, the situation in the lightweight division could have changed dramatically. In that case, Gaethje might have become the undisputed champion and defended the title this summer against Arman Tsarukyan.

However, it remains unclear why the Topuria vs. Makhachev fight was not finalized. One of the discussed versions is a possible refusal from Makhachev’s team, although there has been no official confirmation.

Announced Card for the UFC White House Event

Earlier, UFC president Dana White presented the card during the press conference following UFC 326. The event is scheduled for June 14:

• Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje — UFC Lightweight Title Fight

• Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane — Interim Heavyweight Title Fight

• Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi | Bantamweight

• Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler | Lightweight

• Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus | Middleweight

• Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia | Featherweight

Dana White also noted that he has not yet decided the future of Arman Tsarukyan, admitting he is unhappy with the current situation surrounding the fighter and his position in the division.