UFC Freedom 250 takeaways: A spectacle fight fans will always remember

A once-in-a-lifetime event occurred on Sunday evening as the UFC hosted a seven-fight card titled 'UFC Freedom 250' from the South Lawn of the White House. Yes, that White House on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. You can rewatch the event on DAZN PPV in select territories.

The stars were out (more on that in a minute), and the fights delivered as all seven ended by stoppage. That was the first time all the fights on a UFC card didn't go the distance. 

Not everything was shiny and rosy, though.

DAZN News has our takeaways below of UFC Freedom 250.

The Spectacle

The site of seeing the famed Octagon on the White House lawn was a sight to see. Watching fighters ply their craft with that backdrop does take one's breath away, a 92-foot claw which shone with different lighting of the red, white, and blue throughout the evening, to the military flyover right before the show began.

Seeing fighters walk out of different parts of the Oval Office, making their way out with the armed forces walking them to the cage, and being saluted, was a sight those men will never forget. 

"Everything was perfect," UFC CEO Dana White said at the postfight news conference before joking, "[even] just enough wind to keep the bugs off of us." 

But not everything was perfect, even with mosquitoes in tow (keep following, we are getting there).

A Main Event To Remember

The headliner of the night was Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje battling for the undisputed lightweight championship. Current US President Donald Trump likes to use the phrase, 'Fight, Fight, Fight'. And Gaethje and Topuria lived up to those words that resulted in the former leaving as the undisputed 155-pound champion. 

After a wild first round that went to Gaethje, Topuria roared back in the second round. He dropped Gaethje with a vile body shot at the end of the round. Topuria looked to be moments away from remaining undefeated, but he didn't go for the kill, and Gaethje survived the stanza. Then, he showed the heart of a champion.

He busted Topuria up in the third and dropped him. Like Gaethje, Topuria showed the heart of a champion in surviving the round. Then controversy ensued.

Before the fourth round began, the ringside doctor did visual tests on Topuria as his face was minced meat and looked to have a broken orbital bone.

The doctor waved the fight off and wouldn't let the Spaniard continue. However, UFC doctor Dr. Jeff Davidson said he was ok. Referee Marc Goddard took a quick look and said he was going to let the fight continue. 

Gaethje went on to batter Topuria in the fourth. Thankfully, Topuria's brother, Aleksandre, who was in his corner, told Goddard he wasn't letting his brother continue. That was the right move, but one that shouldn't have had to be decided by the corner. 

The decision by the ringside doctor was the correct one and should have been abided by. Davidson should never have been in the ring, as it came off as a conflict of interest. You could see Goddard feeling the pressure with him to his left. Instead of listening to the doctor, Goddard buckled under the pressure and let the fight go. All that did was hurt Topuria and could have inflicted more damage to his long-term health, which is the most important thing, instead of a fight.

Now, you have to wonder if Topuria will ever be able to come back, and if he does, what percentage of himself will he be at?

The Wrong Stars Were Given The Spotlight

White promised the event was about celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the United States. In spots, it was with the video packages and the military personnel with the fighters during the fighter entrances. But the event was also about the UFC fighters and the military. To me, we didn't get that.

1,000 members of the military were invited and came to the show. Instead of being cageside where they should have been, the service members were shoved to the back, which was a joke and a disservice to them. Along with that, no current or former UFC fighters were there nor highlighted. 

No current UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, who had a vested interest in the co-main event for the interim title between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira, which the former won by second-round TKO. Nor was there women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, Jon Jones, or legends like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Demetrious Johnson, and Ronda Rousey. 

But we did see people who have zero to do with the event or the UFC, like Mark Zuckerberg, Shane McMahon, and boxers Conor Benn, Terence Crawford, Jai Opetaia, and Tyson Fury, who got his own entrance along with WWE legends Paul "Triple H" Levesque and current star Roman Reigns. 

It was a fact that was shared by the biggest star and attraction the UFC has ever seen, Conor McGregor, who returns from a five-year hiatus at UFC 329 on July 11 against Max Holloway. Neither McGregor nor Holloway were invited to the show by the UFC, per multiple sources. They were shown in an interview during the broadcast with Joe Rogan.

For an event of this magnitude, you want to highlight who helped the UFC get to this point in front of the largest audience possible, as it helps the product. Of course, you should highlight the people who help protect the United States in the spirit of the show. But more could have been done with that, especially with the seat positioning. 

At the end of the day, it was more about who was there and not enough shine was given to who has and continues to help put the UFC on the map to deliver a spectacle that people will be talking about for many lifetimes. 

Zayas vs. Ennis - watch only on DAZN

Xander Zayas defends his WBO and WBA super welterweight titles against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis on Saturday, June 27, exclusively live on DAZN. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Joshua vs. Prenga (July 25) and Canelo vs. M'billi (Sept 12) PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.

For more information, pricing and to buy, click here .