Justin Gaethje isn’t impressed with Ilia Topuria’s attempts to discredit his UFC White House win while angling for a rematch.
On Wednesday, Topuria released a statement on social media, first declaring he is healthy and ready to compete again and then accusing Gaethje of having loaded gloves when they fought this past June. Gaethje defeated Topuria via knockout when Topuria was unable to get off the stool for the fifth round, handing “El Matador” his first loss and taking his lightweight title.
Gaethje fired back, calling Topuria’s accusation “a lame excuse,” but overall appears to be taking the comments in stride.
“Nope,” Gaethje told Joy Of Everything when asked if he had any further response for Topuria. “No, I’m just enjoying being the champ.”
“People don’t believe that,” he added. “I’ve done that to everybody’s face that I’ve fought.”
Following his loss to Gaethje, Topuria was left with facial fractures that put an uncertain timetable on his return to competition. The former two-division titleholder now targets a second dance with Gaethje, who expects his next title defense to take place in early 2027.
Should the UFC make the call for Gaethje vs, Topuria 2, the lightweight champion is all for it.
“We’ll see,” Gaethje said. “Time will tell. Am I willing to? I just beat the shit out of him, of course, I would.”
Prior to this week, Topuria had never said a word about any potential skullduggery at UFC White House, so Gaethje understands this might just be Topuria stirring up rematch talk. If that’s the case, Gaethje thinks he can do better.
“That’s not the way to do it,” Gaethje said.
Watch the clip of Gaethje’s response below.
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