Justin Gaethje anticipates eventually headlining an event at the White House, although he admits it won\u2019t happen immediately. Known as ‘The Highlight,’ Gaethje seems to have earned a third opportunity to claim the undisputed lightweight championship following his impressive victory at UFC 324 in January.<\/p>\n
In his first main event of the Paramount era, Gaethje triumphed over Paddy Pimblett in a five-round battle in Las Vegas, securing the interim lightweight title for a second time. For American fans, a unification bout against Ilya Topuria appears to be the logical next step. However, Gaethje might not be the sole contender when the Spanish fighter returns from his break.<\/p>\n
Before Topuria announced his hiatus to handle personal matters outside the Octagon, there was speculation he could face welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. ‘El Matador’ has expressed his ambition to become the UFC\u2019s first fighter to hold titles in three divisions, and Makhachev seems prepared to give Topuria that shot at one of 2026\u2019s marquee events.<\/p>\n
In a recent conversation with Telegraf Sport, Makhachev welcomed the prospect of facing Topuria, who made his comeback in June at the White House event. \u201cI like the idea,\u201d Makhachev stated. \u201cIf the UFC wants it, I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaethje, however, believes the UFC is obligated to book a fight with Topuria. Despite Makhachev\u2019s openness to a potential clash, Gaethje remains focused on his own path, confident in his recent win and eager for the unification bout. \u201cIlia Topria is on the White House card. It has to happen. There\u2019s no other choice,\u201d Gaethje told The Pat McAfee Show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked out of the Oval Office, raised the flag, and stepped into the cage. I\u2019ve been envisioning this since my fight against Rafael Fiziev last year. I expected to fight Topuria in January and then defend the belt in June at the White House. But things change, and you can\u2019t control everything. Ilia has taken a step back due to personal matters, so I\u2019m still able to fight for the interim title. That keeps me champion on paper and positions me to face Ilia Topuria at the White House in June,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Fan Take:<\/strong> This saga highlights the dynamic and unpredictable nature of UFC matchmaking, keeping fans eagerly anticipating blockbuster clashes. The potential showdowns between Gaethje, Topuria, and Makhachev could redefine lightweight and welterweight divisions, injecting fresh excitement into the sport\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Justin Gaethje anticipates eventually headlining an event at the White House, although he admits it won\u2019t happen immediately. Known as ‘The Highlight,’ Gaethje seems to have earned a third opportunity to claim the undisputed lightweight championship following his impressive victory at UFC 324 in January. In his first main event of the Paramount era, Gaethje […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-42923","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}