Ilia Topuria responds to the possibility of going into the later rounds against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250

Ilia Topuria has forged a unique legacy for himself over the past several years. The Georgian-Spaniard fighter has gone from strength to strength in his UFC career, managing to keep his undefeated professional MMA record intact. 

Currently, the former UFC featherweight champion and reigning UFC lightweight champion is scheduled to face a fellow MMA elite, America's Justin Gaethje. 

Ilia Topuria's UFC Freedom 250 opponent is a fearsome, durable knockout artist

Justin Gaethje, who's a former BMF champion, boasts 20 MMA wins by way of KO/TKO and has knocked out elite fighters like Edson Barboza, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, Tony Ferguson, and Dustin Poirier. He's also known for his durability, being tough to finish early on, and carrying his KO power into the later rounds. 

Gaethje presently possesses the interim UFC lightweight championship. As such, their upcoming fight would be a title unifier, the winner of which would emerge as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.

The Topuria-Gaethje matchup, scheduled for five five-minute rounds, will headline UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2026. Ahead of the event, Topuria has predicted that he's likely to stop Gaethje early in the fight. 

Ilia Topuria responds to Megan Olivi, predicting that the Justin Gaethje matchup is unlikely to go into the later rounds

During a recent conversation with UFC interviewer and correspondent, Megan Olivi, on the UFC on Paramount YouTube channel, Ilia Topuria expressed his respect for Justin Gaethje. 

The 29-year-old explained that every fighter is different and brings different styles to the octagon. He noted that he's never faced anyone like Gaethje, labeling the latter as a legendary fighter.

Topuria pointed out that he loves watching Gaethje as a fan, adding that all of the 37-year-old's fights are entertaining. Nevertheless, he believes "The Highlight" has no chance of beating him. He asserted, "Yeah, but when you talk about, like, me fighting him -- as I told you before -- I don't see any possibility for him." 

Olivi notably asked him whether he sees their fight going into the later rounds. Topuria responded by asserting that it won't, underlining that he'll probably finish Gaethje in the very first round. "El Matador" said: 

"I don't think so." He reiterated, "I don't think so." The unbeaten fighter continued, "I'm prepared. I prepared, and I have the stamina to go, not for five rounds but for five days. I can be in there. I know how it feels when you're tired, when you can't do more, and you never give up. So I'm ready. But I have the complete faith that I'm going to finish him in the first round. I just want to make it look beautiful." 

 

Watch Ilia Topuria predict an early win over Justin Gaethje below (*comments at the 2:50-minute mark of the video):