Ex-UFC Champion Sean O'Malley Offers Bold Claim About Status of UFC White House Fight

Former UFC bantamweight titleholder Sean O’Malley has provided an interesting take on the importance of his upcoming fight at The White House.

Scheduled to take place on June 14, the event dubbed “UFC Freedom 250” will see Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje square off in a lightweight title unification bout to close out the evening after Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane fight for the promotion’s interim heavyweight strap.

O’Malley is also set to compete as part of what’s now become a seven-fight card, and his bantamweight matchup with surging contender Aiemann Zahabi is currently slated to take place immediately before Pereira tries to become a three-division UFC champion when he takes on Gane.

Sean O'Malley Claims Co-Main Event Slot for UFC White House Card

Speaking with The MMA Guru this week, O’Malley suggested that his matchup with Zahabi should be looked at as the co-main event for “UFC Freedom 250” given the significance of the card’s two title fights.

Alex Pereira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

“I mean, I’m basically in the co-main,” O’Malley said. “[Topuria vs. Gaethje and Pereira vs. Gane are] both main events, let’s be real. Let’s just call it what it is. I don’t need to keep getting bumped down, I’m the co-main. Let’s just call it as it is. I’m the co-main, nothing wrong with that.”

Merab Dvalishvili (left) faces off with Sean O'Malley (right) at the UFC 316 ceremonial weigh-ins | UFC

“Suga” did feature in the official co-main event slot for his last outing at UFC 324, where he rebounded from back-to-back losses to Merab Dvalishvili when he took a unanimous decision over Song Yadong.

UFC White House Card Currently Features Seven Fights

Regardless of whether O’Malley’s take on his own fight at “UFC Freedom 250” is warranted or not, there’s no doubt that the card is already the most-anticipated event of the summer for some combat sports fans.

Ilia Topuria (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Outside of O’Malley vs. Zahabi and the two title bouts, the UFC White House card also features two-time featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes taking on Steve Garcia and a middleweight matchup between Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus, who has stopped two opponents in under a minute since
rejoining the UFC last year.

Bo Nickal (red gloves) reacts after defeating Rodolfo Vieira (not pictured) during the middleweight bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

The other matchup included in the initial six-fight announcement is a lightweight clash between Mauricio Ruffy and Michael Chandler. Following Josh Hokit’s win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327, an additional matchup between Hokit and the UFC’s all-time knockout leader Derrick Lewis was also added, which gives the event a total of seven fights.

Jan 24, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Derrick Lewis (blue gloves) before the fight against Waldo Cortes-Acosta (red gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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