Sports
UFC Freedom 250 Best Bets: White House Fight Night Picks
Jun 12, 2026; Washington, D.C., USA; Ilia Topuria (left) and Dana White look on during a press conference for the UFC Freedom 250 at Lincoln Memorial. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images The day is finally here. In just a few hours, the UFC will host one of the most unique and anticipated events it’s ever done. Nearly one year after it was first teased by President Donald Trump, UFC Freedom 250 goes down on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.
The main event will see an undisputed UFC lightweight champion be crowned as reigning champion Ilia Topuria defends against interim champion Justin Gaethje.
Topuria claimed the championship by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last year. He’s been sidelined due to a custody battle. Gaethje became the UFC interim lightweight champion with a win over Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January. It’s Gaethje’s second reign as interim champion, and this will mark his third chance at undisputed lightweight gold.
An interim heavyweight champion will be crowned in the co-main event as Alex Pereira takes on Ciryl Gane. History is on the line in this bout, as a win by Pereira will make him the first fighter in UFC history to ever win championships in three different weight classes during their career.
Pereira reclaimed the light heavyweight title in his last fight, finishing Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320. Gane enters this fight off the no-contest he had with current heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall at UFC 321. Gane is a former interim champion and has had unsuccessful cracks at the undisputed gold against Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones.
The rest of the UFC Freedom 250 card will see Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis, Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler, Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia.
ILIA TOPURIA VS JUSTIN GAETHJE
It’s unanimously agreed that this might be Gaethje’s final chance to become undisputed champion – and he may just retire with a loss tonight. While he’ll have that motivation, he’s taking on one of the men consistently vying for the top spot in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Topuria has a strong ground game and Gaethje has a wrestling background – but those will be thrown out the window. With Topuria being an exciting fighter and Gaethje someone who wants to produce entertaining highlights, expect these two to throw leather until someone goes down and stays down.
While that should mean a fight that produces fireworks, if Topuria has even an ounce of the technical skill with him and Gaethje gets too wild, it’ll be Spain standing on top at night’s end.
BET: Topuria to win by KO/TKO in Rounds 1 OR 2 (FanDuel: +105)
Our Current Best Offers
Channel debug: betting
ALEX PEREIRA VS CIRYL GANE
This line is pretty disrespectful to Pereira. Yes, he’s moving up to a new weight class and taking on the guy who was pushing Aspinall to a limit before the anticlimactic ending. But Pereira is not your average fighter; he’s one of the pound-for-pound best.
Pereira’s power didn’t leave him when jumping from middleweight to light heavyweight. And at the weigh-ins yesterday, he jumped up to a massive 251 pounds – a jacked 251. Gane might have that “last chance” pressure on him, but is he really ready for “Poatan”?
Gane will need to tie up and take down Pereira, make the most of grappling, to have the best chance to win. The more he chooses to trade, the more he risks seeing stars on the White House lawn.
BET: Pereira via KO/TKO (DraftKings & FanDuel: +150)
Our Current Best Offers
Channel debug: betting
MAURICIO RUFFY VS MICHAEL CHANDLER
It’s interesting to think about how different Michael Chandler’s UFC career would have been if he finished Charles Oliveira and won the UFC lightweight title at UFC 262. Unfortunately, it’s been downhill for him since. Chandler is just 2-5 in the UFC and was unable to see the dream match with Conor McGregor come to fruition.
He now takes on Mauricio Ruffy, a dangerous lightweight contender who comes from the Fighting Nerds camp. Chandler needs to use his wrestling, but that might not be enough for him here. Ruffy is powerful, he’s speedy and accurate, and he just has more to offer as a fighter right now than Chandler. Chandler might have the post-fight bonuses, but he doesn’t have the Ws.
BET: Ruffy to win via KO/TKO AND Under 1.5 rounds (DraftKings: -125)
Our Current Best Offers
Channel debug: betting
Sports
Team Spirit, FURIA first to clinch IEM Cologne playoff spots
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Team Spirit and FURIA punched their tickets to the playoffs of the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major with their third consecutive Stage 3 victories on Saturday in Germany.
Team Spirit, which earned a bye to Stage 2, and FURIA, which earned a bye to Stage 3, are the first two teams to clinch playoff spots with Round 3 high-match victories. Spirit did so with a 2-1 defeat of 9z Team while FURIA swept BetBoom Team 2-0 to advance.
In other Saturday action, B8 and PARIVISION were the first two teams eliminated from Stage after losing Round 3 low matches. B8 fell 2-1 to FUT Esports while PARIVISION lost 2-0 to Legacy.
At the start of Stage 3, 16 teams were still standing at the Counter-Strike 2 tournament that began with 32 entrants, competing for their share of a $1.25 million prize pool with the grand final scheduled for June 21. The champion receives $500,000.
Stage 3 utilizes a Swiss System format and all matches are best-of-three. The top eight finishers will proceed to the playoffs next week.
Team Spirit rallied for its victory on Saturday, winning 16-13 on Mirage and 16-14 on Dust II after 9z Team opened the match with a 16-12 win on Overpass. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets of Russia led Spirit with 77 kills and a plus-28 kill-death differential in the triumph.
FURIA had less trouble winning their match against BetBoom Team to clinch a playoff spot, running off consecutive 13-6 wins on Overpass and Dust II. Latvia’s Mareks “YEKINDAR” Galinskis led FURIA with 39 kills, and Brazilian Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato had a team-best plus-17 K-D differential.
FUT Esports rallied to remain in contention, dropping the opener 13-10 on Dust II to B8 before rattling off a 13-9 Mirage win followed by a clinching 13-11 Ancient victory. Dmytro “dem0n” Myroshnychenko of Ukraine carried FUT with 58 kills and the only positive K-D differential (plus-10) on the squad.
Legacy swept PARIVISION behind a 16-12 win on Inferno and a 16-13 Dust II triumph. Bruno “latto” Rebelatto led the all-Brazilian Legacy team in kills (52) and a plus-20 K-D differential.
In Round 3 mid matches on Saturday where teams were neither eliminated nor advanced, Natus Vincere edged The MongolZ 2-1, Team Falcons beat Monte 2-1, Aurora Gaming swept G2 Esports 2-0 and Team Vitality outlasted MOUZ 2-1.
On Sunday, three Round 4 high matches will be contested for playoff spots while three Round 4 low matches will eliminate teams before three final Round 5 matches on Monday lock in the playoff field.
Sunday schedule
Round 4 high matches (advancement)
BetBoom Team vs. Team Vitality
Aurora Gaming vs. 9z Team
Natus Vincere vs. Team Falcons
Round 4 low matches (elimination)
MOUZ vs. FUT Esports
The MongolZ vs. Monte
G2 Esports vs. Legacy
Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major prize pool
1. $500,000
2. $170,000
3-4. $80,000
5-8. $45,000
9-11. $15,000
12-14. $15,000
15-16. $15,000 — B8, PARIVISION
17-19. $10,000 — paiN Gaming, TYLOO, BIG
20-22. $10,000 — MIBR, M80, Astralis
23-24. $10,000 — GamerLegion, FlyQuest
25-27. $5,000 — Lynn Vision Gaming, NRG, Team Liquid
28-30. $5,000 — THUNDERdOWNUNDER, Sharks Esports, HEROIC
31-32. $5,000 — Gaimin Gladiators, SINNERS Esports
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spacestation, LuneX, Liquid win opening-day matches at OWCS Stage 2
Spacestation Gaming, LuneX Gaming and Team Liquid all won on the opening day of regular-season play for Stage 2 of North American qualifying for the Overwatch Champions Series on Saturday.
Spacestation and LuneX are tied atop the standings after delivering 3-0 wins on Day 1 over Dallas Fuel and The Kafe, respectively. Liquid is in solo third, behind marginally on match differential, after a 3-1 defeat of Disguised, which is alone in fourth.
The six teams in contention will engage in round-robin matches during the regular season, with the top four qualifying for the regional playoffs, which will be double-elimination. All matches are best-of-five until the grand final, which will be best-of-seven.
In addition to the $75,000 prize pool, the top four Stage 2 finishers will advance to Stage 3. The three finishers will also qualify for the Midseason Championship.
Spacestation Gaming completed its sweep of Dallas Fuel with a 2-0 win on Ilios, a 3-1 Dorado triumph and a 3-1 victory on Suravasa.
LuneX Gaming similarly wrapped up a sweep of The Kafe with a 2-0 win on Antarctic Peninsula, a 5-4 battle on Dorado and a 3-2 victory on New Junk City.
Disguised opened its match with a narrow 2-1 Oasis win before Team Liquid surged back with a 3-1 New Junk City win followed by triumphs on Dorado (1-0) and Numbani (3-1) to win on Day 1.
Sunday schedule
Dallas Fuel vs. The Kafe
Team Liquid vs. LuneX Gaming
Standings (team, record, match differential)
T1. Spacestation Gaming, 1-0, +3
T1. LuneX Gaming, 1-0, +3
3. Team Liquid, 1-0, +2
4. Disguised, 0-1, -2
T5. Dallas Fuel, 0-1, -3
T5. The Kafe, 0-1, -3
Prize pool:
1. $30,000, qualifies for Midseason Invitational, qualifies for NA Stage 3
2. $15,000, qualifies for Midseason Invitational, qualifies for NA Stage 3
3. $12,000, qualifies for Midseason Invitational, qualifies for NA Stage 3
4. $8,000, qualifies for NA Stage 3
5-6. $5,000, qualifies for NA Stage 2 promotion/relegation
–Field Level Media
Sports
LA Thieves fight to stay perfect in Call of Duty Stage 4 qualifying
The hands of an esport gamer clutching the controler at Encore Esports Gaming Lounge in New Rochelle on Thursday, December 20, 2018.
E Sports
The Los Angeles Thieves remained unbeaten, but it wasn’t easy as they had to rally to defeat G2 Minnesota 3-2 on Saturday at Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major qualifying.
Boston Breach, the Carolina Royal Ravens and the Miami Heretics also won on Day 2 of the Week 2 matches.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing five qualifying matches apiece to determine seeding for the fourth major of the season to be held June 25-28 at Nanterre, France. Each team receives 10 CDL points for each win. Qualifying resumed Friday after last week’s Stage 4 Minor won by the Thieves.
Boston Breach downed last-place Toronto KOI 3-1, starting quickly with close wins on Gridlock Hardpoint (250-233) and Raid Search and Destroy (6-5). Toronto stayed alive with a 2-1 win on Den Overload, then the Breach closed it out with a 250-129 victory on Den Hardpoint.
Boston’s Marcus “Afro” Reid of the United Kingdom was selected Match MVP with 107 kills and a plus-16 kills-deaths differential.
The Carolina Royal Ravens outlasted OpTic Texas 3-2. Texas took the first map, 250-147 on Den Hardpoint. Carolina stormed back with narrow wins on Raid Search and Destroy (6-5) and Den Overload (4-3). Texas again won, 250-207 on Sake Hardpoint, before the Royal Ravens had a final 6-5 edge on Den Search and Destroy.
Carolina’s Logan “Lurqxx” Brown of the United States was the Match MVP with a match-high 107 kills and a plus-24 K-D differential.
The Miami Heretics started strong in downing Faze Vegas 3-1. The Heretics won 250-149 on Sake Hardpoint and 6-4 on Raid Search & Destroy. Vegas rallied with a 7-1 victory on Gridlock Overload, but Miami closed with a 250-205 decision on Gridlock Hardpoint.
Miami’s David “RenKor” Isern of Spain was Match MVP with a match-high 78 kills and a plus-19 K-D differential.
The Los Angeles Thieves won a battle with G2 Minnesota, 3-2, with two must-win maps. The Thieves opened with a 250-214 victory on Den Hardpoint, then Minnesota had the edge after wins on Fringe Search and Destroy (6-4) and Gridlock Overload (6-5). Los Angeles responded with a 250-222 decision on Scar Hardpoint, and a match-deciding 6-4 win on Hacienda Search and Destroy.
Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez of France was Match MVP with a match-high 109 kills and a plus-8 K-D differential.
Qualifying continues Sunday with three matches:
–Toronto KOI vs. Cloud9 New York
–Vancouver Surge vs. Paris Gentle Mates
–Riyadh Falcons vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major qualifying standings, with match record and map differential:
1. Los Angeles Thieves, 3-0, +3
2. Boston Breach, 3-1, +4
3. Riyadh Falcons, 2-0, +4
4. G2 Minnesota, 2-1, +2
5. Carolina Royal Ravens, 2-1, +1
6. OpTic Texas, 2-2, +4
7. Miami Heretics, 1-2, -2
8. FaZe Vegas, 1-2, -2
9. Paris Gentle Mates, 1-2, -1
T10. Cloud9 New York, 0-2, -4
T10. Vancouver Surge, 0-2, -4
12. Toronto KOI, 0-2, -5
–Field Level Media
Team Spirit, FURIA first to clinch IEM Cologne playoff spots
Social media reacts to Knicks storybook NBA Finals win
