UFC fighters can\u2019t leak their fights if they don\u2019t know about them before they\u2019re announced.<\/p>\n
That was the promotion\u2019s attitude when it came to the UFC White House card. Justin Gaethje didn\u2019t know he was fighting Ilia Topuria in the main event of Freedom 250 until the UFC officially announced it<\/a> at UFC 326. There\u2019s even video footage of him in the stands looking surprised as the fight was revealed on the jumbotron.<\/p>\n Sean O\u2019Malley\u2019s opponent Aiemann Zahabi had a similar experience finding out about his fight, and he attributes it to leaks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s because they want to keep everything leak-proof,\u201d he told streamer Neon in a new video. \u201cThey don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI said yes, I think Corey Sandhagen said yes. And I think they offered Topuria the fight with Gaethje, but they also offered him Islam Makhachev. And they didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was like a really cool announcement,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n