UFC White House start time, TV schedule, weather updates

The UFC White House event is set to take place Saturday evening at 8 p.m. ET, exclusively on Paramount+, featuring seven fights headlined by two of the promotion's biggest stars.

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will defend his title against interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the main event. A victory for Topuria could set up a superfight with undisputed champion Islam Makhachev. Former two-division champion Alex Pereira faces Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event, with a win potentially earning Pereira a shot at undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who is currently sidelined with an eye injury.

The card also features Sean O'Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi, Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis, Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler, Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus, and Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia.

Weather could play a factor in the outdoor event. As of late Saturday night, forecasts call for hot conditions with a high around the low 100s (real feel) and intervals of clouds and sun throughout the day. A heavy thunderstorm is expected around 6 p.m. ET with potential for flash flooding and damaging winds. Rain chances increase from 34 percent at the 8 p.m. start time to 43 percent by 11 p.m., meaning weather delays or adjustments to the broadcast schedule remain possible.