UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn delivered exactly the spectacle Dana White promised. Justin Gaethje pulled off an all-timer of an upset to take the undisputed lightweight title off Ilia Topuria in a main event that had the entire MMA world losing its mind. Production, weather, every fight ending in a KO — the kind of card people will reference for years.
Gaethje, bloodied and arms raised, the new undisputed lightweight champ on the White House lawn.
There was just one problem if you weren't a degenerate or a podcaster with a flexible Monday. The main event reportedly didn't wrap until around 1 AM ET, on a Sunday, with the entire working country staring down an alarm clock. Portnoy woke up, saw the highlights he'd missed, and went straight to his timeline to vent.
Portnoy's first reaction of the morning, scrolling through highlights he didn't stay up for.
I can’t believe these UFC highlights I’m walking up to. Why’d they do this at like midnight on a school night.
Naturally, the replies came in hot — people accusing him of whining about bedtime like a kid with a backpack. So he clarified. The 'school night' thing wasn't literal. It was about the millions of people who had to be functional at 9 AM Monday and got hosed by a card that easily could've started earlier. His pitch: if you're going to run it Sunday, fire the first prelim at 7 PM and let the main event hit before midnight.
Portnoy spelling out the actual gripe after the replies started rolling in.
Lots of people taking the school night literally. So I’ll dumb it down. It sucked this was Sunday night instead of Sat and I think main event ended at 1am and 99% of country wake up to work on Monday. It was an awesome event though. Start it at 7pm if you want it on Sunday
And to be clear, he wasn't trashing the card. Portnoy went on Wake Up Barstool and laid out the same take in long form — the event was awesome, the White House setting was unreal, Gaethje pulling a real-life Rocky on the lawn was the kind of moment you can't script. The only note is the clock.
Portnoy giving his full UFC Freedom 250 take on Wake Up Barstool.
It's a fair gripe. The UFC has historically pushed main events deep into the night to hit West Coast and European windows, but a one-off historic card on the East Coast on a Sunday is a different animal. If the whole point was to make this feel like a national event, you probably want the country actually awake when the belt changes hands. Portnoy's not asking for much — just move the whole thing up a few hours next time and let everyone enjoy the Rocky ending without paying for it Monday morning.