Justin Gaethje sees no reason for an immediate rematch against Ilia Topuria.
Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) dethroned Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to claim the lightweight title by battering him at UFC Freedom 250 in June. It was a stunning upset which handed Topuria his first-career loss.
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Topuria provided no excuses, but said he will have his rematch with Gaethje. When asked about that, “The Highlight” shut it down right away.
“He’s not fighting me next,” Gaethje told RMC Sport of Topuria. “Why would he fight me next? Arman (Tsarukyan) deserves it way more than him, and then a couple of fights are going to happen between now and then. I didn’t knock him out. I didn’t get lucky. I beat him up.
“He’s going to have to get a win before he fights for the championship. He might go back to 145 (pounds). We don’t know what Ilia’s doing. Do you think he should fight me next? Over everybody else? Over (Charles) Oliveira? Over (Max) Holloway? Over Tsarukyan?”
Gaethje thinks it’s likely Topuria’s team who wrote that statement, not him.
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“He didn’t say he wanted a rematch,” Gaethje said. “If I hear him say it using his mouth and say, ‘I want a rematch,’ I’ll be very surprised. We haven’t even seen him. Hey, he’s f*cking good. The kid is good. Whoever fights him next is in trouble, and it ain’t going to be me.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Justin Gaethje: Arman Tsarukyan deserves title shot ‘way more’ than Ilia Topuria
