UFC at the White House expert picks, storylines, numbers to know - ESPN

The UFC's most anticipated fight card of 2026 is here. After nearly a year of planning and talk, 14 fighters are set to take their Octagon walks on Sunday from the White House to a custom-built stage on the South Lawn, where President Donald Trump and more than 4,000 other UFC fans will take in the fights.

The setting is unlike any other in professional sports history, but will the fights themselves live up to the atmosphere? If the weather (and the bugs!) cooperate, there is a chance fight history will be made in Washington. Two-division champion Alex Pereira is going for a third belt. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is fighting to keep his title — and his undefeated record — against one of the toughest outs in the game. And the experts are split on whether either outcome can happen.

Before the lights go up on "the claw" on Sunday, here are the storylines, statistics and picks for the UFC Freedom 250 fights.

Forecasts for Sunday evening in Washington have been all over the weather map, which surely cannot comfort Dana White. The UFC CEO credits his production team with control of every last detail of the company's events. For years, White maintained that he had no interest in staging a fight card at an outdoor venue because of the variables such a setting creates. But here he is, putting on fights on the South Lawn, and White is resolute that the show must go on. «If it f---ing snows, we're fighting,» he said recently on an Adin Ross stream.

Good news for White: Snow is not in the D.C. summertime forecast. But there could be rain (70% chance as of Saturday night, according to Accuweather). And if there is lightning in the area, White has acknowledged that the fights would have to be paused. Even with no precipitation,