Justin Gaethje found out he was headlining Freedom 250 against Ilia Topuria at the same time as the fans, when the UFC announced the matchup during UFC 326.
Video footage shows Gaethje sitting in the stands and looking surprised as the Gaethje vs. Topuria main event was revealed on the jumbotron.
Aiemann Zahabi says he learned of his own fight with Sean O'Malley in a similar way and believes the promotion is tightening control around announcements. “I think it’s because they want to keep everything leak-proof,” Zahabi said. “They don’t want anybody to leak it to the media or whatever. I think they picked one side of the card and they made two options for every [B-side] fighter.”
Zahabi explained that he and Corey Sandhagen both accepted potential fights, and that Ilia Topuria was offered Justin Gaethje and Islam Makhachev as options. “And they didn’t tell anybody who they picked out of the two options so that nothing leaks in the news or whatever. So then they announced it on the day and we all got surprised.” He added, “I thought it was like a really cool announcement.”
Zahabi contrasted this with what he described as the usual UFC process, where a text confirmation is quickly followed by a bout agreement. This time, he said, “I got nothing, I still don’t have a contract,” despite being two months out from UFC White House, while still maintaining, “But the UFC is good with their word.”
