Ilia Topuria Reveals Why He's Confident He'll Run It Back With Justin Gaethje
Ilia Topuria is confident that he and reigning UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will run it back, although the American has hinted at a potential retirement soon.
During a recent sitdown with Adam Catterall, "El Matador" spoke about his title loss at The White House to Gaethje, what he learnt from the brutal setback, and also discussed what his plans are.
Ilia Topuria Refuses to Put His Pride Aside While Addressing Potential Justin Gaethje Rematch
At one point during the interview, "El Matador" said he wants a rematch with "The Highlight" and believes Gaethje made the biggest payday of his career on June 14, fighting him, and would definitely not retire without securing another massive paycheck.
The 29-year-old also opined that for Gaethje, the biggest moment of his career was figting him on June 14, and the American will always remember the moment. The Georgian-Spaniard quipped:
"I would love it. Why not? I want to have my rematch, and it's going to happen at some point. He's talking about retirement and all that, but it was the biggest moment of his lifetime, to fight against me at the White House... The most amount of money he made in his life was against me. I don't think he's gonna retire without one more paycheck."
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments about Justin Gaethje below:
What has Justin Gaethje said about a rematch?
Justin Gaethje has no intention of running it with Ilia Topuria. The 37-year-old believes he made Topuria quit twice on the stool on June 14, and therefore the latter needs to first bounce back before thinking about a title shot.
Meanwhile, Gaethje is still recovering from a few injuries and has not told the UFC brass whether he will return in 2027 to defend his strap or vacate and retire. However, in case "The Highlight" does come back, he has shown interest in facing top contender Arman Tsarukyan, who most recently knocked out Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331.
Dana White loves the idea of a potential Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria 2 lightweight title clash. However, the UFC CEO has a lot of options on the plate for "The Highlight" currently. Alexander Volkanovski wants to challenge Gaethje, "Batman" also has similar goals, and even Topuria.
