Ilia Topuria returns for Justin Gaethje fight as Dana White announces full UFC White House card

Ilia Topuria will return to the Octagon at UFC White House for his first lightweight title defence.

UFC CEO Dana White has announced Topuria will fight Justin Gaethje in the main event of the historic White House show, scheduled for June 14.

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Also on the card, Alex Pereira makes his debut at heavyweight, fighting Ciryl Gane in the co-main event for the interim UFC heavyweight title.

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is currently recovering from eye surgery following his clash with Gane last October and is likely to fight the winner.

Sean O’Malley, Michael Chandler, Bo Nickal and Steve Garcia will all be representing the United States in their respective bouts on the card.

Dana White reacts to UFC White House card

“We’re in a unique position where we have guys like Pereira who can become a three-division champion,” White told Joe Rogan on the UFC 326 broadcast.

“Right now, the time is right for Ilia Topuria and it should be explosive.

“[Pereira] moving up and taking on a guy like Gane, the way these guys strike, it’s going to be very interesting

“And should he win the fight, we’ll see what’s going on with Tom Aspinall and it could be him vs Aspinall.”

“This card was a lot more difficult than we anticipated but we got it done.

“A fight fell through last night and the team were working on it the entire night.”

The White House card was revealed during the main card of UFC 326.

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Topuria, who is undefeated in 17 professional MMA fights, hasn’t fought since winning the lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last June.

‘El Matador’ took a break from the sport in November due to a messy divorce from ex-wife Giorgina Uzcategui and the pair have since reached a settlement.

The UFC’s No. 2 men’s pound-for-pound fighter then quickly returned to training and has now been trusted to headline what could be the greatest show the promotion has ever put on.

“18-0,” Topuria, 29, captioned a social media post with a graphic of his fight with Gaethje at the White House in his first response to the news.

Gaethje, meanwhile, was crowned the interim champion at 155lbs after a war with Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324.

‘The Highlight’ bested Pimblett on the feet over five rounds to put his name in the driving seat to fight Topuria for undisputed status next.

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Gaethje previously held the interim strap at lightweight in 2020 but failed to win the undisputed crown when he fought Khabib Nurmagomedov in the latter’s retirement fight.

The 37-year-old has previously admitted that he is in the last chapter of his career and his main event against Topuria may well be his final fight.

Legacy at stake

Acting as one half of the co-main event at UFC White House, Pereira is seeking to create a legacy never seen before.

The former light heavyweight champion vacated his belt last month, having decided to move up a division.

Having also claimed gold at middleweight, the Brazilian from Batistini now has the chance to become the first three-division champion in UFC history.

‘Poatan’ originally wanted a super-fight with Jon Jones on the UFC White House card, but negotiations never materialised.

UFC CEO White revealed on Friday that the historic event, celebrating 250 years of American independence, lost a fight a day before the announcement.

Members of the MMA fraternity have speculated that Jones was the fighter who pulled out, although nothing has been confirmed.

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s UFC schedule.