“Weird Sh*t for Fun”: Justin Gaethje Dismisses Ilia Topuria’s Padded Gloves Claims

Ilia Topuria broke his silence last week after the loss and alleged that Justin Gaethje might have tampered with his gloves before the fight. 

‘El Matador’ took shots at the champion and his manager in the same vein. However, Gaethje seems unbothered when asked about the allegations this week. 

Justin Gaethje Reacts to Ilia Topuria

"Not really. Not really. You know, he's part of your era. You guys say weird sh*t for fun, dude," Justin Gaethje said on the new episode of One Night with Steiny when asked about the accusations. 

The new champion isn’t treating this as a serious allegation; he’s treating it as content. Moreover, has been officially confirmed so far. 

Also, as per the rules, the gloves were inspected by a UFC official both before and after the fight. Thus, the accusation seems baseless. 

Gaethje is one of the hardest hitters in UFC history, and many of his opponents, including the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, have acknowledged it. 

So the damage inflicted on Topuria was similar to what happened to many of Gaethje’s previous opponents. 

In his post, Topuria said he would check Gaethje’s gloves before the rematch. Gaethje, who had shown little enthusiasm for the rematch, now appears to have changed his mind following the accusations. 

Arman or Topuria: Who Actually Fights Next? 

Undoubtedly, Ilia Topuria has built his case as a worthy contender with his undefeated winning streak before the Gaethje loss. 

However, Tsarukyan settled his case with a dominant first-round finish of a seasoned striker in Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 last week. He is also riding a six-fight undefeated streak, making him hard to ignore. 

Dana White confirmed post-UFC 331 that Arman Tsarukyan has earned the next title shot. Also, the new champion himself acknowledged during one of his podcast appearances. 

Thus, the picture seems very clear now. Tsarukyan has earned the shot, and Topuria will have to wait.