Ilia Topuria Fires Warning Shot Along with Glove Tampering Accusation; Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan Reacts

Ilia Topuria was given a medical suspension of 180 days after losing to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.

Ilia Topuria Fires Warning Shot Along with Glove Tampering Accusation; Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan Reacts

Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje (Image via MMA Fighting/Bloody Elbow)

After taking time away from the sport to heal up, Ilia Topuria has slowly returned to the limelight. ‘El Matador’ lost at UFC Freedom 250 against Justin Gaethje in a stunning upset. Despite being beaten up badly, there is still much anticipation surrounding his next fight.

Two weeks back, the Georgian-Spanish fighter returned to social media with an emotional video alongside his son. Topuria claimed that the loss made him stronger and he would get back up from the fall. During his time away, he faced much scrutiny as some believed he would no longer be the same.

Recently, Dana White spoke about a potential rematch for Topuria against Gaethje and a superfight against heated rival Paddy Pimblett. On X, the former double champion confirmed getting medically cleared to train and accused Gaethje of glove tampering.

Final medical tests done. I’m back. To all the clowns who’ve been talking (expletive) and counting me out this whole time, here I am. Now let’s see who’s got the balls. Thanks to everyone for the support. Next time, I’ll make sure they check Justin’s gloves so he doesn’t put anything weird on them. See you soon.

Ilia Topuria via X

Magomed ‘Chanco’ Zaynukov took shots at Topuria while he was away on a hiatus. Josh Hokit, who triggered ‘El Matador’ during the UFC Freedom 250 presser theorized about his first career loss.

Pimblett and Arman Tsarukyan also trolled Topuria after losing to Gaethje. It appears that Topuria addressed all those who spoke against him with his fiery tweet.

In a follow up tweet, the Georgian-Spanish fighter had some harsh words for Gaethje and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz. The online reaction to Topuria’s tweet remains massive as it has crossed 6 million impressions on X.

MMA insider, Alvaro Colmenero, reported Jesus Gallo eyeing a February return for El Matador. Gallo is the physical trainer of Topuria. The former featherweight champion was spotted cycling in anticipation of returning back to the octagon.

Not everyone was happy about the tweet from Topuria. Gaethje and Tsarukyan didn’t like the excuse from the Georgian-Spanish fighter.

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Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan scolds Ilia Topuria for latest tweet

Accusing Justin Gaethje of tampering with the gloves didn’t sit right with some people. Some fans felt that Topuria was making excuses for a loss from conspiracy theories that floated around on the internet after UFC Freedom 250.

Ilia Topuria gets a response from Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan chimes
Ilia Topuria gets a response from Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan chimes (Image via MMA Fighting/X)

The UFC has had internal conversations about Topuria rematching Gaethje for the title. The new champion is putting off his retirement plans to secure a lucrative payday for his next. Upon seeing the tweet from Topuria, Gaethje reacted with disappointment.

94 days and the best you could come up with is a lame excuse. As terrible as your last performance. Do better kid.

Justin Gaethje via X

Meanwhile, Arman Tsarukyan pushed back on the accusations that Topuria floated with his tweet. The Armenian contender told Carlos Contreras Legaspi from ESPN Deportes that the tweet from Topuria was nothing more than excuses.

Just excuses. How could the commission let him wear different gloves? They’re standing there checking everything. You have to start with yourself and look at what you did wrong instead of finding excuses and talking about the gloves.

Arman Tsarukyan told ESPN Deportes

Gaethje ruled out fighting again in 2026 as he has yet to fully heal from various injuries. As such, a rematch with Topuria won’t happen till 2027 despite ‘El Matador’ getting the medical clearance.

Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is gearing up to face Mauricio Ruffy this weekend at UFC 331. Tsarukyan needs to do something special to potentially leapfrog Topuria in the lightweight title picture.

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