Things are heating up between Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria.
Next weekend, Gaethje and Topuria face off in the main event of UFC White House for the undisputed lightweight title. As the fight has gotten closer, Topuria has increased his trash talk toward Gaethje, recently releasing a video of himself placing a white rose at the base of a Gaethje mural, which was surrounded by similar murals of past opponents Topuria has defeated. But Gaethje is not impressed.
“All that guy is, is a gimmick,” Gaethje told Fox Sports. “He calls himself the king. He thinks he’s a God. What an annoying little bastard. I couldn’t imagine being in a room with him for 30 minutes listening to him talk about himself …
“And I can say this: I would leave him,” Gaethje added, referencing Topuria’s recent divorce from his wife. “That’s all I’m saying. I would leave him. No way I would put up with his shit.”
Since winning his first UFC title, Topuria’s bragadocious personality has come to the forefront as he has treated the Gaethje fight like a formality, already adjusting his social media bio to say “18-0” in advance of the White House card. But Gaethje isn’t concerned with any of that, and notes that the man he beat earlier this year to win the interim title, Paddy Pimblett, was similarly cocky.
“Yeah, look, I was young and dumb once, too,” Gaethje said. “And up until this point, it’s served him well. People see the way he talks, and they believe it. Because he believes it. Which is amazing, really. But it was similar with Paddy Pimblett. He was so full of himself. And it can be so detrimental to approach life that way. Thinking you’re better than everybody else.”
UFC White House takes place on June 14th and also features an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.
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