“I Want to See Him Prosper” – Justin Gaethje Hopes to See Ilia Topuria Become Champion in Surprise Admission

The MMA community is eagerly awaiting the return of Ilia Topuria after the former champion recently became medically cleared for training. The two most likely opponents that he will face are Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.

Gaethje outlasted Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 to become the lightweight champion. ‘The Highlight’ is currently healing from injuries. As such, he is likely not facing anyone this year. Meanwhile, the UFC brass had internal discussion about rematching Gaethje and Topuria.

The duo had a tense buildup to their fight at UFC Freedom 250. However, after the fight, Gaethje has taken a passive-aggressive stance. Recently, ‘The Highlight’ surprised everyone when he talked about wanting to see Topuria become a champion again.

Outside of that, without those mental mistakes, he is one of the best in the world, there’s no doubt about it. I’m never talking (expletive) about him, because he’s so good. I want to see him come back, I want to see him thrive, I want to see him prosper. The reason my story was so significant, and so relative and relatable was because I failed… he has the same opportunity to inspire the world through what’s he’s going to do next.

Justin Gaethje said on the Double Coverage Podcast

This comment Gaethje was surprising to many as he and Topuria recently had a back-and-forth interaction where ‘El Matador‘ made glove tampering accusation. Moreover, Gaethje didn’t reveal whether a rematch with Topuria was next for him on the podcast.

At one point, Gaethje did say that Arman Tsarukyan deserved the title shot more than Topuria. Nevertheless, he is only returning for a lucrative payday, and a rematch with ‘El Matador’ could net him a ton of money in the final portion of his career.

Gaethje is not the first person to talk about Topuria winning the title again. Former opponent, Alexander Volkanovski, backed the Georgian-Spanish fighter to learn from the loss and return stronger than ever. Moreover, Islam Makhachev also backed Topuria to focus on winning the title back.

It remains to be seen if Gaethje keeps his promise of not talking trash to Topuria moving forward. After all, ‘El Matador’ wants to rematch the American fighter and win the title back. The MMA community is eagerly waiting to see what’s next for Gaethje and Topuria.

Colby Covington agrees with Ilia Topuria’s glove tampering theory about Justin Gaethje

Shortly after UFC Freedom 250 ended, Gaethje’s hand wrapping certainly grabbed everyone’s attention. However, officials denied any wrongdoing. Even fans and some UFC fighters felt that it was not easy to cheat considering how many people were around Gaethje during the time of wrapping his hands.

Nevertheless, Topuria accused Gaethje of tampering with the gloves. UFC commentator Jon Anik clarified that ‘El Matador’ might be hyping up a rematch. The fact remains that everyone talked about it on social media.

Former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington, weighed in on the controversy. Unlike many others, Covington somewhat agreed with Topuria’s accusation in his conversation with Helen Yee.

It definitely looked like there was something in his glove. Like I don’t know what to say. Like it looked like off color. It didn’t look like the taping of like your hands. You know how all the UFC fighters get their hands wrapped? It looked like an off color like yellow. It didn’t look like white tape.

Colby Covington told Helen Yee

🚨Colby Covington agrees that Justin Gaethje’s gloves looked weird. 😳

🗣“It definitely looked like there was something in his glove. Like I don't know what to say. Like it looked like off color. It didn't look like the taping of like your hands. You know how all the UFC… pic.twitter.com/l1YrqPiZUb

— FightLuck (@FightluckBet) September 18, 2026

Covington and Gaethje has always talked trash to each other. Some fans felt that this was Covington’s way to diminish his fellow American as a fighter.

Nevertheless, more and more people are intrigued about how a rematch would go between Topuria and Gaethje.

Also Read:

• Ariel Helwani Thinks Ilia Topuria’s Re-Emergence May Prevent Arman Tsarukyan From Getting a Title Shot After UFC 331
• Paddy Pimblett Reveals Why He Has Respect for Ilia Topuria But Not Arman Tsarukyan