When UFC Freedom 250 was announced, there was a feeling of shock, amazement, and disbelief around the world. A flagship cage fighting event on the lawn of the White House was sure to set tongues wagging, and it definitely lived up to that promise.

It was advertised with a bold claim heralding it as ‘the most historic sporting event of all time.’ Paramount+ exclusively broadcast the event and reported an average of 8.2 million viewers, at least 17 million unique viewers in the United States and Latin America, and 34 million viewers worldwide.

These figures made it the most-watched exclusive live event on Paramount+ to-date and one of the most-watched mixed martial arts events of all time.

Justin Gaethje Battered Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250

Amber Searls via Imagn Images

One of the fights which garnered much attention was the bout for the UFC lightweight championship between the defending champion Ilia Topuria and the interim champion Justin Gaethje.

Topuria lost the bout at the end of the fourth round, losing by technical knockout via corner stoppage. This meant that he lost the championship and also experienced his first loss in his MMA career.

The Spanish-Georgian fighter couldn’t get up off his stool to contend the final three minutes and had to be assisted by members of his team and family to leave the Octagon. El Matador suffered orbital bone fractures and a broken nose in the clash, claiming Gaethje had ‘taken the sight’ from both of his eyes before going to hospital to recuperate.

The 29-year-old has already called out his rival for a rematch to reclaim his title after his recovery, but this wasn’t the only storyline to come from the night.

Paddy Pimblett Enjoying Ilia Topuria’s Downfall

Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images

Fellow UFC fighter Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett ridiculed Topuria for failing to get up and fight in the fifth round despite losing to the 38-year-old himself by unanimous decision in January. However, the Brit clearly sees his loss as more respectable, saying: “The only thing you had to do was beat a 38-year-old coming off a five-round war with me. Instead, you quit on your stool like the little b**** you are.

The Englishman has now gone a step further with his stool obsession, further mocking the Alicante-based fighter by claiming to have bought the stool that Topuria was propping himself up on at an auction.

The 31-year-old uploaded a picture of himself on Instagram, holding a red UFC stool just like the one Topuria used, with the caption: “Collectors’ item.”

The UFC did list the used stool in an auction, and it sold for $13,700 (£10,195) with the listing proclaiming it as the chance to own “a genuine piece of history.”

However, in recent days, it has been revealed that the Liverpudlian was not the lucky auction winner and the real buyer has come forward to expose Pimblett‘s lie.

Pimblett’s Stool Story Exposed as a Lie

In a video uploaded to Instagram, a woman called Jessica said: “I am actually the one who bought the Ilia [Topuria] red stool from Freedom 250.”

In the video, Jessica showed an email from UFC Collectibles informing her the stool had been shipped and went to the Shop app, where she had purchased it from with confirmation.

When displaying the Shop app, she declared: “I cannot forge this, AI this. This is the app of the shop where the purchase was made.”

With what appears to be buyer protection added to the order as well as the stool itself, the total bill came to a whopping $18,272.48, which can be seen at the bottom of the receipt.

Finally, she went to the UFC website to show that it was also displaying her purchase.

She ended the video with a clear statement that showed her intentions: “It was me, I bought it, not Paddy [Pimblett], not anybody else. Big Ilia fan and I kind of purchased it on purpose so that Paddy and nobody else could actually buy it and use it against him, but here we are.”

Credit: Zuffa LLC

With multiple proofs of purchase, it seems certain that Jessica is telling the truth and Pimblett faked the story to further mock and provoke Topuria. It’s likely that Pimblett didn’t expect his taunt to be disproven by someone who had made the insane purchase themselves.

While Topuria clearly desires a rematch with Gaethje when he’s fit enough to return to the cage, perhaps Pimblett’s goading will return to haunt him someday if he finds himself at the Spaniard’s mercy in the opposite corner.

It was a subdued World Cup final in many ways, with Argentina failing to cause many issues against Spain, even though it was still a tight game. It took until Enzo Fernandez’s 93rd-minute red card for the game to truly spark into life.

Indeed, Lionel Scaloni’s men didn’t register a single shot against Spain in the first 90 minutes, the first time a team failed to have a shot attempt in regulation time in World Cup final history. In extra-time, though, La Furia Roja made their extra-man advantage count as they created some big chances before Ferran Torres struck the winner in the 106th minute.

After a somewhat strange Argentine display, some internet theories have suggested something must have gone wrong before the game. Adding to those claims, Lionel Messi’s body language and comments to his teammates ahead of kick-off have generated plenty of discussion.

Lionel Messi’s Pre-World Cup Final Speech Sparks Concern

A clip has emerged of Messi talking to the Argentine players in the tunnel ahead of kick-off, where he seems to be addressing an incident in the dressing room. He said:

Truth be told, Argentina did not stay calm with Fernandez getting a red card. A number of other players, most notably Leandro Paredes, also lost their cool on the day. With Messi’s comments circulating online, many supporters have been left wondering what exactly caused him to urge his teammates to ‘forget about everything’.

One asked: “I need to understand why Messi said “forget everything that happened” before heading out to the final. What the hell are we missing? What did they do to them?”

Another added: “Honestly, after how weird the whole match was and now this video pops up, I’ve got a thousand doubts.” While a third wrote: “The whole match was weird. Argentina played like they didn’t want to be there. No pressing, no attacking, not even defending, nothing. And now this comes out…”

Someone else added: “Something happened before that match, well, the truth will come out.”

Others also seemed to think Fernandez was even in tears, as one noted: “Enzo crying before the final is the weirdest thing here. He’s always the most hyped guy. It seems very shady, not to mention he got sent off that match.”

Explanation For Strange Argentina Dressing Room Scenes

REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

Amid all the speculation, a possible explanation has emerged for the seemingly sombre mood of the World Cup finalists. Indeed, trusted Argentine journalist Hernan Castillo – who has previously reported for the likes of ESPN – took to social media to explain that things were so emotional because Messi had confessed it was likely his final game:

At this moment in time, Messi has yet to confirm if he will ever play for Argentina again. Now 39, it’s almost certain that this would have been his final match at a World Cup.

Speaking on social media, he has now addressed the defeat, stating: “The pain is very great and it will take time for this wound to heal.

“But I also take away all the good things… With the matches we turned around leaving everything on the pitch and that will remain forever in the memory, with the support of an entire country that together with the work and effort of this group led us to be, once again, among the best in the world.”

He finished by congratulating Spain on their triumph.

Nathan Aspinall called out online abuse from darts fans last year after a former world champion was met with backlash when talking about his own mental health.

This came after Aspinall’s triumphant night in Manchester during the 2025 edition of the Premier League, where he came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat world number one Luke Humphries 6-4 and pick up his first nightly win of the season in his hometown.

After the win, Aspinall admitted to Sky Sports that he nearly quit the sport altogether after suffering with dartitis, saying: “I’ve got a few issues, and sometimes it doesn’t look pretty on TV or whatever, but I found a way to cope with it.

“It affects me, but I’m winning, and I’m winning tournaments, and it’s one of them, either quit and give up and go home, or you own it, and you make it part of the game and that’s what I’ve decided to do.”

The result at the time took Aspinall up to fourth in the Premier League, just ahead of Michael van Gerwen. However, he finished the Premier League in third place that year, behind only the aforementioned Humphries and Luke Littler. He eventually lost to Humphries in the semi-finals at the O2, who went on to win the Premier League by beating Littler in the final.

Aspinall then wasn’t involved whatsoever in the most recent Premier League, despite his impressive showing in the 2025 edition.

But it wasn’t his nightly win that dominated the headlines at the time, as the two-time PDC major winner took the time to defend one of his colleagues from criticism that they had been receiving online, with the Asp calling behaviour from fans “disgusting” and saying that he wasn’t sure why the abuse was happening.

Nathan Aspinall Defends Fellow Player After Criticism

In an interview with SportsBoom, Aspinall came to the defence of Luke Humphries, who received criticism from fans online after talking openly about how his schedule had been affecting his mental health, with the former world champion saying that he feels “emotionless” because of his strict schedule.

This was met with backlash by some darts fans online at the time, which led to him posting on X: “Considering the comments, people not understanding what I meant… Will be the last time I ever confess my real feelings to the public.

Nathan Aspinall on His Friends Not Liking Darts Player

Aspinall came to the defence of Humphries in an interview with SportsBoom, before admitting that all of his mates that like darts simply do not like the world number two.

“He is an absolute credit to the sport. It’s disgusting. I have no idea.