Dana White makes decision on backup fighter for UFC White House main event

Dana White has confirmed who will be the backup fighter should Ilia Topuria or Justin Gaethje pull out of their main event fight at UFC Freedom 250.

Topuria will defend his lightweight title against interim champion Gaethje on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14h.

The event, taking place on the same day as President Donald Trump's birthday, will host seven major fights for the 4,300 audience members.

In addition to Topuria vs Gaethje, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane will do battle for the interim heavyweight title.

As always in the fight game, nothing is set in stone until the two competitors are in the cage.

It's forced the UFC to draft up contingency plans, with the burning question being who steps in for either Topuria or Gaethje.

Several huge stars have been left off the White House card, including Conor McGregor and Paddy Pimblett. UFC president White has now confirmed who'll be getting a last-minute call-up should things go south.

White confirms who could replace Topuria or Gaethje

Speaking to Nina Drama on her latest livestream, White confirmed Arman Tsarukyan is ready for either Topuria or Gaethje.

He said: "We're talking about Armen's next fight. So Armen is the backup for the White House fight. If anything happens to that fight, Armen is in there."

Drama let out an audible gasp and admitted he's 'good at marketing'.

White replied: "Yeah, I mean, listen, the run he's been on is impressive. When you end up sideways, you do some dumb s**t. He's got out there and made people want to f**king see him. That's a fact."

The 29-year-old last fought in November 2025, dominating Dan Hooker en route to a second-round submission victory in Qatar. Tsarukyan picked up Performance of the Night, although his antics in the build-up frustrated White.

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The Armenian headbutted Hooker during the previous day's ceremonial weigh-ins, with Hooker claiming it broke his nose. White later said his actions during that saga cost Tsarukyan a title shot in the immediate future.

Since then, he's been completing side quests away from the UFC. He choked Muhammad Mokaev unconscious during a grappling match in March, plus took on UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber in a freestyle wrestling match.

Faber called him a 'spoiled child' for his conduct during the match, which saw Tsarukyan execute an unsafe takedown that took both athletes off the stage and onto the concrete floor.