WASHINGTON (AP) — By the time Justin Gaethje pummeled his bloodied foe to a pulp and celebrated a championship win with a backflip off the top of the wire-mesh cage, then shook hands with President Donald Trump — and even fist-bumped Melania — this much about his company's future was clear to the ultimate boss of UFC: Just say no to the White House.
“It was an amazing, experience, this was a one-of-one,” UFC CEO Dana White said.
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Featherweight fighters Diego Lopez and Steve Garcia in the ring during the first fight at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand in the ring at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Alex Pereira, far right, is attended to, as Ciryl Gane lays in the center of the ring during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
Ilia Toupruia, left, fights Justin Gaethje during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ilia Toupruia, left, fights Justin Gaethje during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
UFC President and CEO Dana White attends a press conference following the UFC Freedom 250 fight, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
The UFC Fan Fest on the White House Ellipse ahead of the fights on the South Lawn, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
“It will never happen again.”
Oh, not because the show dubbed Freedom 250 and ostensibly held to celebrate Trump's 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing wasn't by White's accounts a smashing success. He crowed about merchandise sales and streaming service subscriptions and how UFC surpassed its goals in every metric he could list at a news conference that stretched well into the dawn's early light Monday.
And the setting?
Forget it, almost impossible to top on a night when fighters essentially treated their walkouts like they were kids on a class trip. The all-male lineup toured the West Wing, the Oval Office, walked past presidential portraits, through the Roosevelt Room, the Cabinet Room — and the winners even got a meet-and-greet with Trump.
Gaethje skimmed the copy of the Declaration of Independence that hangs in the Oval Office and said a prayer before he made the unusually long walk to the cage. Gaethje battered Spanish-Georgian fighter Ilia Topuria in the main event and won the UFC lightweight title.
“Usually, I kind of blank out when it comes to getting ready to walk to the cage,” Gaethje said. “It was pretty crazy, looking at the Declaration of Independence. The original one. Their language was different. I'm not smart enough to read that.”
Gaethje also banked a whopping $825,000 in bonus money for winning “Performance of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors.
Trump stayed until the end of the seven-card show and generally seemed engaged with the fights — at one point he put on a white “USA” baseball cap — and certainly was all smiles each time a fighter who had a hand raised in victory then used it on a handshake with the president.
Trump boasted on Truth Social the night was “PERFECT!”
There were few blips on the big night and the blemishes that did happen were at the expense of UFC's two more problematic fighters.
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse watch party attended by thousands more fans by a group of police officers. Heavyweight Josh Hokit took it further with an extraordinary and unfounded attack based on a right-wing conspiracy theory about former first lady Michelle Obama.
For all the hand-wringing ahead of the card, the show delivered on the star-spangled smackdown that featured pulsating patriotism from the Marine Band, tributes to first responders, active military and other White House-designated heroes. Gaethje and Ciryl Gane were crowned champions inside a blood-splattered eight-sided cage plopped in the open air right in the people's house backyard on the South Lawn.
Blood and guts were a mandate before an American fighter wrapped himself in the flag.
“Hopefully tonight created some unity,” White said as he put on his hyperbolic promoter's hat. “Even for the people that thought this was going to be some big political statement or something, this wasn't. This was Americans, all Americans celebrating the birthday. For people who tuned in for the first time, because it was at the White House, hopefully they liked the sport. They liked some of the guys' stories.”
So maybe some new fans stick around.
After all, International Fight Week is right around the corner, with UFC 329 set to mark the return after a five-year break of the company's biggest box office draw, Conor McGregor.
That fight will be held in a more traditional arena back on UFC's home turf in Las Vegas, just as they will for years to come.
But despite all the pomp and pageantry, the eyerolls and angst, White stands by his claim that UFC is one-and-done in D.C.
The constant headaches over weather concerns in the rare outdoors show, the logistics of construction of the cage and staging events at federal landmarks and the soaring cost — UFC said it was footing the $60 million tab — made Freedom 250 a one-off for a company once dubbed “human cockfighting."
“I can’t afford it," White said. "I’ll never do the Sphere again and we’ll never do this again.”
AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts
Featherweight fighters Diego Lopez and Steve Garcia in the ring during the first fight at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand in the ring at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Alex Pereira, far right, is attended to, as Ciryl Gane lays in the center of the ring during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
Ilia Toupruia, left, fights Justin Gaethje during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ilia Toupruia, left, fights Justin Gaethje during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
UFC President and CEO Dana White attends a press conference following the UFC Freedom 250 fight, Monday, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
The UFC Fan Fest on the White House Ellipse ahead of the fights on the South Lawn, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A cathedral in one of the oldest and most sacred landmarks in Eastern Orthodox Christianity was set ablaze early Monday as Russia bombarded Ukraine’s biggest cities, killing 11 people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Russia fired the barrage of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at the capital of Kyiv, and the second-largest city of Kharkiv, after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Arriving in France, Trump said he had a good conversation with Zelenskyy and Putin. “Now that this (Iran) is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” he said, referring to diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks Tuesday by G7 leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy also is due to attend to pushing his country's plight.
“This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack on civilian sites that included the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery complex.
“It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries ... and that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities,” he said.
Zelenskyy offered to meet Putin with Trump and European leaders at the G7 gathering in France but the Kremlin didn’t reply, a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about it. The Kremlin has said repeatedly that if Zelenskyy wants to meet Putin, he can come to Moscow.
Putin is wanted by the court on a warrant dating to March 2023 for alleged involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine during the conflict. France would be obliged as an ICC member to arrest him. The United States and Russia both oppose the court.
Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency workers and wounded 53 across Ukraine.
Five were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, where at least 30 others were also wounded, including two children aged 5 and 6, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's Military Administration.
A series of powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv, with a wave of ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter underground. Clouds of black smoke drifted over the city.
Five strikes hit civilian sites in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district in under 30 minutes, Tkachenko said, including a 25-story apartment building, while a market and a grocery store caught fire. In the Obolonskyi district, a nine-story residential building took a direct hit.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted defense and industrial facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, including enterprises and workshops producing components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said that a workshop producing medium- and long-range drones located on the premises of the Dovzhenko film studios in Kyiv was among the targets hit.
Russia also claimed to have hit Kyiv’s Radar plant, which it said makes drone components, and the Mayak plant that it said makes Ukraine's Flamingo long-range cruise missiles. Military conscription offices in Kyiv were also struck, it said.
There was no immediate information about the 11th person killed in the attacks.
In Kyiv, smoke billowed around the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral inside the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a revered religious landmark.
Its roof caught fire during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity,” and appealed for prayers to save the site.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).
In a statement, UNESCO condemned the attack, which it said reportedly caused significant damage to the exterior and interior of the Dormition Cathedral.
Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the attack Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.” He visited the scene with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and other government officials.
The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the “equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame” in Paris.
Ukraine’s National Commission for UNESCO, which coordinates the country's cooperation with the U.N. educational, scientific and cultural body, urged the international community to step up pressure on Moscow to stop its invasion and to throw it out of the organization.
“By destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage, (Russia) seeks to erase historical memory and inflicts damage upon the heritage of all humankind,” the commission said in a statement.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, saying that it might have veered off course due to its age.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, while also striking the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv.
The military said air defenses intercepted or electronically suppressed 632 aerial targets, including 50 missiles and 582 drones.
Preliminary data showed 20 ballistic missiles and 27 attack drones hit 42 locations across the country, while debris from intercepted drones fell at 12 sites.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 123 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Associated Press writers Samuel Petrequin in London and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Accompanied by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, center left, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, inspects the damage caused by a Russian drone strike at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
A helicopter drops water from a drop tank onto a fire at a market after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
An explosion of a Russian drone is seen on the horizon in front of the Ukrainian Motherland Monument during an attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A helicopter drops water from a drop tank onto a fire at a market after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A missile fragment lies on the street following Russia's air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo//Efrem Lukatsky)
Firefighters try to put out a fire at a city marketplace following a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026.(AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)
Local residents gather near the entrance to a damaged residential building following an overnight Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
A local resident uses a firehose to extinguish a fire at a building following an overnight Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
A woman stands at a street near a damaged building following an overnight Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
An explosion of a Russian drone is seen on the horizon in front of the Mother Motherland monument of Second World War during a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Rescue workers put out a fire of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves during a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Rescue workers try to put out a fire at the Dormition Cathedral of thousand-year-old Monastery of Caves, also known as Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, following a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The roof of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is on fire during the overnight Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
The roof of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra burns, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
