The Fight #94 LNT

UFC Freedom 250 sounded like a gimmick… until the cage door closed.

A UFC card at the White House.
 $250,000 finish bonuses.
 Nonstop stoppages.
 Real consequences.

This episode, we break down the full card from top to bottom — the entertainment, the violence, and the uncomfortable question: was this elite competition, or matchmaking designed to create fireworks?

We talk Diego Lopes vs Steven Garcia, Bo Nickal’s striking evolution, Sean O’Malley’s slick reads, Alex Pereira’s heavyweight gamble, and the scary reality of damage with Michael Chandler and Derek Lewis.

And then there’s Justin Gaethje vs Ilia Topuria — a violent, high-level title fight that swings back and forth before Gaethje closes the show late and makes history at 38.

Sharp reactions. Honest critique. Fight-by-fight analysis.

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Transcript

Quick Intro And Card Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's Leon LA, the fight, episode 94. We are covering UFC Freedom 250, the card that happened on Sunday. The card that happened in America's backyard.

White House Hype And Finish Bonuses

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Listen, man, the White House event was everything we wanted to see top to bottom from the beginning to the inning. They had a 250k bonus for finishes. There was not a single person who did not get a finish tonight. This is exactly what we want from the UFC on an entertainment level. Now, as a skill set, as a matchmaking, as oh, these guys are fighting the best guys. This wasn't the guys fighting the best guys, but it so it was the guys fighting the best guys. But a lot of the matches were mismatched. Hokit versus Derek Lewis, for example, Sugarshan O'Male versus Zahabi, for example, Marcio Ruffy for versus Michael Chandler, for example. Now, Bo Nickel and Kyle are similar in age, reach, height, everything like that. But let's start

Diego Lopez Power Beats Skill

SPEAKER_00 1:07

with the card. Diego Lopez beats Steven Garcia, round two KO. I mean Diego got power in his hands, and if you trade with him, he will put you down. He can take the shot, he has a better chin, he will land harder shots and more damage. It looked like Steven Garcia was gonna outskill, but he got out willed, and he was winning before he turned it into a fight. And Diego Lopez, before he's an MMA martial artist, he is a fighter. I think he's a much more dangerous fighter than he is MMA athlete as far as a martial art artist and his skill set. That's why you know Alex Volkonowski was able to beat him twice. His footwork and IQ aren't there, but his mind, well, his body and his fighting spirit is there all the way. So it's after you know, more time, more maturation, more fights. Shout out to him for the round two KO. Now we move up on the card.

Bo Nickal’s Striking Levels Up

SPEAKER_00 2:16

We have Bo Nickel versus Kyle, Bogus, the round one TKO. I mean, Bo's striking has grown leaps and bounds, and now it's really trotting. He is starting to figure it out. He is more than a one-two, he is more than a double leg, he is not leaning on his wrestling, but he's going to use it. It's great to see Bo mature, and I think that RDR loss was exactly what he needed as a fighter and as a martial artist. I think that made him become more of a martial artist. And that's the biggest thing when you come into sport with a strong and powerful base, such as wrestling or Sambo, or boxing, or kickboxing. Your base kind of defines your MMA style. Now, Bo gets the round one W. Now we move on.

Chandler’s Toughness Meets Reality

SPEAKER_00 3:12

We got Marcio Rufi versus Michael Chandler. Michael Chandler is an older fighter. I'm sure he's gonna retire soon. I hope this is his retirement fight. I thought he was gonna get beat in the first round. And he did. I didn't think it was gonna go very far. I didn't think it would be good for him. And I didn't think that Michael Chandler could stop anything that Roofy was gonna do. He's just sharper, cleaner, more efficient with his strikes, more efficient with his anti-wrestling, more efficient in doing damage. Once he picked his shot, once he got the range, and that was like a maybe a minute in, he started picking him apart, and Chandler had no answer. And you know, shout out to Chandler, a lot of heart, but that's not enough at this stage in his career. I recommend he retires.

Lewis Grounded And Ref Questions

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Now we go to Josh Hokett and Derek Lewis. This is a similar story. Derek Lewis is great if you want to stand there and fight his fight. But if you don't fight his fight, if you do take him down, the fight's pretty over. It's pretty much over. Hokitt controlled them. He outworked them. He played the round for a while, even tried to get an arm bar. Hokett is a great fighter. Don't like him much as a person outside of it. Just the things he's saying and doing is a little weird. And the characters he's pandering and the narratives he's putting out. I feel like as a fighter, you can do the whole Hogan thing. You can even do the wrestling thing without being so weird about it. Like a lot of the stuff he's doing, if you do it outside of context of, oh, this guy's just a fighter. If there's some random dude you don't know, you'd be like, this guy's fucking weird. Now, do I think he's a great fighter? Yes. Do I think he was going to easily beat Derek Lewis? Yes. That fight was preordained. It just was a matter of time. Now, shout out to Derek Lewis for making it to round two. He's tough. He's a vet, but it's time to hang him up. He's taking too much damage. He took a lot of damage. Herb Dean is crazy. He has to start stopping these fights. Derek Lewis was beaten while he was down for five seconds until I think he got punched even after the bell because he didn't get Hokett off fast enough. Listen, man, this is heavyweight MMA. And heavyweight in any combat sport is the most dangerous level. The biggest guys with the most dangerous weapons, throwing them as hard and as fast as possible to try to get the other person out. Josh Hokett gets to win

O’Malley Showcases Striking And Risks

SPEAKER_00 5:46

in round two. Sean O'Malley versus Adhabi. Great, great striking showcase from Sugarshawn O'Malley. I did not like that he got all those leg kicks. If somebody else is watching this fight, they're going to be like, yep, let's kick him in his fucking leg. Now, he won the fight in round two, but his opponent is 38 and is mainly a striker. This is a stylistic match. Great for him. This is a great matchup for him. He's going to try to fight Peter Young, get the belt back. He is one of the greatest strikers in that division. And if it's a striking match, he will win. Most times. Or he's going to at least, at least be felt. Shout out to him. Shout out to Sugarshano Miley getting around two PKO over Zahabi.

Pereira’s Heavyweight Jump Gets Checked

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Now we get into the main event, the co-main event, Alex Pereira versus Gain. Gain is 230, all muscle, heavily athletic, heavyweight MMA fighter. This is the worst possible matchup to fight at all coming up for Alex Pereira. The only thing he's really bringing up was his name, his power, and his mystique. None of that works in heavyweight. It doesn't matter. Cyril Gunn was able to deal with his power. Cyril Gunn was able to stay away from the power. And then he was able to land his own power, dropping Alex Pereira, finishing the fight, and getting him out of there in round two. He is now the interim champ again. Him and Tom Aspinall got to run that back. I'm excited to see just how far Cyril Gon

Gaethje And Topuria Deliver A Classic

SPEAKER_00 7:26

can go. Now the main card, we got Justin Gacy versus Ilya Tapoor. One of the best fights I've seen in my life. One of the greatest combat scenarios I've ever seen for four rounds of violence. And it was violent on both ends. Both fighters nearly stopped each other in multiple rounds. And then Justin Gacy took it out, took him out in the championship rounds. Justin Gacy is finally a champion. Justin Gacy did it, and he's 38 years old. This is this is the creme de la creme. This is his Terrence Crawford moment when he Terrence Crawford beat Canelo. This is one of the greatest things he's ever done. Ilio Tapora is a generational talent. He will get better. He will beat everybody else once he sits down and you know really pick apart his styles and his in his mistakes. You know, a lot of jabs in the early onset, a lot of damage in the early onset, not respecting what was coming back. Shout out to both competitors, but Justin Gagey is the champ.

Betting Wins And What’s Next

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Now, guys, I won a lot of money on this card. I'm gonna start telling you guys my bets tap into the pod. I'm gonna start doing my bets. Another part of the fight, my bets, tap in. It's Lena Le.