With UFC Freedom 250 now less than three weeks away, company CEO Dana White has revealed the one fight he wanted on the card that “slipped” away.

Preparations are already underway for the landmark event on the south lawn of the White House, which takes place on the 14th of June. The card has been timed to celebrate both the USA’s 250th anniversary and the 80th birthday of President Donald Trump.

The President has been heavily involved in putting the card together for the event, even playing a key role in adding an extra fight to the show. Freedom 250 is set to be one of the most stacked UFC shows in recent memory, with two title fights set to take place.

UFC Freedom 250 Card Explored

Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira will compete for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship, before Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje meet for the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.

In addition, high-profile fighters such as Sean O’Malley, Michael Chandler and Derrick Lewis will also step into the Octagon during the most culturally significant card in UFC history.

With a line-up packed with current and former champions, the promotion has delivered a top-tier card for the show, but Dana has admitted he would have loved to have added a third title fight to the bill.

The UFC White House Fight That Slipped Away

In a recent interview with Time Magazine, White revealed that he had hoped to host a women’s title bout on the card. The fight in question would have seen Mackenzie Dern defending her UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship against Weili Zhang.

The bout would have seen Zhang handed the chance to regain the belt that she vacated when she moved up to flyweight to challenge titleholder Valentina Shevchenko.

However, the UFC were unsuccessful in booking Dern vs Zhang as the Chinese fighter wanted to take more time off before resuming her UFC career. Her last bout took place when she lost to Shevchenko at UFC 322 in November 2025.

“We did try to make a women’s fight. We couldn’t get it done,” declared White of the bout. As a result, there will be no female fighters on next month’s show.

Due to the work involved in clearing fighters and the cornermen to access the grounds of the White House, Freedom 250 will feature just seven fights in total. It is not uncommon for UFC events to feature almost twice that number of bouts.

Despite having to compromise when it comes to the number of fights on the card and dealing with other logistical issues, White is fiercely proud of the show he plans to put on next month. He even admits that he will lose a significant amount of money in the process.

“This is basically me spending a ­s***load of money to celebrate the 250th birthday of America, with America and the rest of the world,” he conceded.

Newcastle United endured a season to forget as they finished in the bottom half of the Premier League with no European football on offer next campaign.

After a memorable 2024-25 campaign that saw the club lift the Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League, the last 10 months have been rife with inconsistency and lacklustre displays.

For a second summer in a row, Newcastle face a tough battle to keep hold of their top players. Sandro Tonali has been linked with Premier League rivals Manchester United and Anthony Gordon is attracting strong interest from across Europe.

Bayern Munich are keen on the player while Liverpool are not out of the race to sign the boyhood Reds fan.The Magpies value Gordon at £75m and are reluctant to sell him unless that valuation is met.

Anthony Gordon agrees personal terms with Barcelona

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano expects Gordon to leave St James’ Park this summer. While there is interest from Bayern and Liverpool, Barcelona are ‘big, big fans of the player’.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “I expect him to leave Newcastle, I expect movements around Anthony Gordon.

“Barcelona, I have to tell you this, Barcelona are really big, big, big fans of Anthony Gordon.”

Gordon clearly has no shortage of suitors with Romano also revealing that several Premier League clubs have made calls to understand the situation on the player’s future.

The England international joined Newcastle in January 2023 in a deal worth up to £45m. He became the Magpies’ all-time top-scorer in the Champions League this season and netted a total of 17 times in 46 games this term.

In a fresh update, Romano posted on X that Gordon has now agreed personal terms to join Barcelona. He said: “Total agreement reached between Anthony Gordon and Barcelona on personal terms

“Barcelona are in direct, official talks with Newcastle to close the deal club-to-club. Barça want to get the deal done quickly to anticipate PL clubs and Bayern, still active behind scenes.”

Where should Anthony Gordon go if he leaves Newcastle United?

While Gordon seemingly has his pick of clubs, Newcastle are likely to prioritise the biggest offer over the player’s preference.

At Bayern, he would be competing with Michael Olise for a spot on the right wing while at Barca he would need to unseat Lamine Yamal if he wanted to play in his natural position.

At Liverpool, an avenue to first-team football is much more open. Mohamed Salah has left the Merseyside club after nine years at Anfield and the right wing position is up for grabs.

Jeremie Frimpong has been used in an attacking role in the last few months but he is a right-back by trade. Meanwhile, Federico Chiesa’s game-time has continued to be heavily limited under Arne Slot.

Gordon also knows Liverpool striker Alexander Isak well, with the pair playing 84 times together at Newcastle before the Sweden international joined the Reds.

However, with the player agreeing personal terms to join Barca, he is backing himself to make an impact in Spain as the clubs continue talks over a deal.

Liverpool have made a move to hire Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as they consider their options around Arne Slot, according to Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

Liverpool ended a tumultuous Premier League campaign 25 points behind champions Arsenal, in what has to go down as a poor defence of their 2025 league title.

The Reds were affected by situations happening on and off the pitch, with Jota’s tragic death prior to the season starting understandably having a huge impact on the club and his teammates.

On the pitch, Slot had to do without record signing Alexander Isak for much of the season due to injury issues, while another big signing in Florian Wirtz took time to get used to the demands of English football.

Liverpool chiefs are said to be ready to give Slot next season to improve matters on the pitch with credit in the bank from winning the league title in his first season in charge at Anfield, but there are likely to be big changes on Merseyside this summer.

Two big dressing room personalities in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson are already confirmed to be departing, while no new contract agreement has been reached for Ibrahima Konate yet, with his deal due to expire next month.

Sky Sports: Liverpool ‘Make Move’ for Andoni Iraola

According to Sky Sports Italy, the interest in hiring Andoni Iraola is ramping up.

The Spaniard led Bournemouth to Europa League football in the Premier League this season, weeks after he announced he would be leaving the south coast outfit this summer when his contract expired.

Reports in recent days have suggested that Serie A giants AC Milan are keen to bring the 43-year-old to Italy to replace Max Allegri, with the San Siro outfit also resigned to playing Europa League football next season despite spending most of the season in the Champions League spots in the Italian top flight.

Milan aren’t the only club interested in his services, according to Sky Sports Italy, with Bayer Leverkusen and two Premier League clubs, Crystal Palace and Liverpool, also making moves for him.

Liverpool Move for Iraola Could Happen in Future

According to Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, any move for Iraola by Liverpool will depend on the club sacking Slot.

The Reds are said to have been given a ‘glimmer of hope’ after the Spaniard’s negotiations with AC Milan, as he appears to be ready to take his time on deciding his next club.

The Italian reporter has also suggested that the talks over Iraola would be for the future, rather than imminently, but the Merseysiders may well risk losing him to another big club now if they decide to wait.

All the signs are that Slot will carry on for now, but Liverpool are clearly sounding out their options for their next manager.

Iraola is one of the most promising up-and-coming managers in European football after the incredible job he has done with Bournemouth, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp labelling him as being an ‘elite’ coach.