Justin Gaethje doesn’t mince words on Ilia Topuria’s arrival to lightweight division
UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje weighs in on Ilia Topuria moving up to 155-pound limits, ahead of UFC 313 PPV, this Satuday.
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Justin Gaethje weighs in on Ilia Topuria's move to lightweight (Source: X/IMAGO)
Safe to say, UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje is a very interesting fighter. Gaethje touts 13 UFC post-fight bonuses, except for his title losses in 2020/22. ‘The Highlight’ returns this weekend for the PPV co-mains at UFC 313. Yet another interesting name on the roster right now is Ilia Topuria, who is high-octane and strike-heavy. Coincidentally, Topuria would be joining the 155-pound ranks soon enough.
Ilia Topuria holds on to the soon-to-be vacant UFC 145-pound title that he won last year. “El Matador” even made a dominant defense against the gritty Max Holloway, who put Justin Gaethje to sleep. Topuria would relinquish the stake to his strap at the first shot of the UFC 314 PPV headliner on April 12 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Wednesday, human ‘Highlight’ Gaethje fielded questions about Topuria’s move up. The UFC 313 star locks horns with Rafael Fiziev on Saturday from T-Mobile Arena, right before that.
Yeah, …I think, uh, he’s a fighter, you know – especially with the confidence that he has right now…With those wins over Max and Volkanovski… I think you know confidence is the biggest factor when you step in there. So yeah, I think uh, [he] just made the most exciting like, weight class in this sport [155] a little bit more exciting, [on stealing title shot] uh I don’t know haven’t thought about it…that’s one of the things I can’t control so won’t put a lot of thought…
Justin Gaethje during UFC 313 PPV Media Day fighter interviews
UFC 313’s Gaethje is hopeful a win puts him straight to UFC 155-pound title contention against Islam Makhachev. He does think there’s a chance it would put his name in the running; the champ himself has also name-dropped him before. To that end, Ilia Topuria is a big deterrent to his title run dreams.
The Spanish-Georgian star has made no secret about wanting to challenge Makhachev for gold. Ilia Topuria even wanted to face Charles Oliveira for a UFC 155-pound top-seed spot in the meantime. With the momentum of top names he has defeated, he might just get it. However, Gaethje has this weekend to look forward to and won’t speculate if he and Topuria will be pitted against each other, ever. Somebody is expecting a war out of him.
UFC 313 Scout Report: Rafael Fiziev hopes that Justin Gaethje scraps to go to war – not just to win
Fiziev has made the UFC walk en route to 6 wins and 3 losses (12-3 MMA stat in total). But the martial arts game is fickle, and up until some weeks ago, he wasn’t even expecting a UFC 313 slot. After 18 months on the sidelines, he got his chance to rematch Justin Gaethje after UFC 155-pound standout Dan Hooker pulled out due to injury. Fiziev knew nothing, and he’s now ready for anything.
That’s the nature of this game. But one thing he knows for sure is that Justin Gaethje is never in a boring fight. Three days out of UFC 313, he threw a wishbone asking for a ‘Highlight’ who can produce all the forward pressure.
I’m just saying to my manager, ‘Hey, if you have some message from UFC, don’t ask me. I say yes to you for everybody, top-15, top-10, not ranked, debut guy, or somebody. Just don’t ask me…I like the Justin who goes forward, who makes his house in the octagon, …I waited for that the first fight. I went to the war — but he went for the win. If he goes like that [forward], he makes me more happy.
Rafael Fiziev during UFC 313 PPV Media Day fighter interviews
Rafael Fiziev had his momentum and a trail of a six-fight winning streak crushed by Gaethje. ‘Ataman’ means to rebound from the March 2023 majority decision loss. He wants to face a UFC 300-ish version of Justin Gaethje, who obliges calls for war, not just chases wins. Where the duo go from here in the 155-pound pecking order depends on what they give this weekend.
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