Dana White has unveiled the fight card for the UFC's White House event, with Ilia Topuria defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in the main event on June 14. The co-main event features Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight to face Ciryl Gane for the interim title, as champion Tom Aspinall recovers from double eye surgery.
Notably absent from the card are Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. McGregor, who had been linked to a bout with Michael Chandler, revealed he was snubbed and is now expected to return on July 11. Chandler instead faces Mauricio Ruffy. Former bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley takes on Aiemann Zahabi, while Bo Nickal meets Kyle Daukaus and Diego Lopes fights Steve Garcia in the six-fight lineup.
White acknowledged the difficulty in assembling the card, stating: 'This card was a lot more difficult to put together than we had anticipated, but we got it done. A fight fell out last night; the matchmaking team was literally in the office all night working on this thing.' He also hinted that if Pereira wins, a future bout with Aspinall could be possible.
The event will be held on the White House lawn, with no place for Jones, who had been rumoured to face Pereira after the Brazilian vacated his light-heavyweight belt.
