This collage of photos shows UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (right) and Justin Gaethje. — UFC/Instagram
Justin Gaethje opened up on his potential fight against Ilia Topuria after facing Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324.
UFC lightweight champion Topuria recently announced that he is moving away from the sport for some time to deal with personal issues, following which UFC CEO Dana White made public that Pimblett will be up against Gaethje for the interim lightweight title on January 24.
In his recent interview with ESPN, Gaethje has now shared his thoughts on a potential fight with Topuria and spoke about his mindset going into what may be his last crack at the gold.
“Ilia, I trust in my A to B, it’s what I have to trust in. I trust in my intuition. I trust in my ability to judge distance and time and just be there,” Gaethje said.
“This sport is so crazy. Anything can happen. There’s a reason why we’re all on the edge of our seats every fight, because anything can happen at any moment. So again, it comes down to not making mistakes against a guy like that.”
He then shared his thoughts on Topuria’s strengths and how he is going to deal with the.
“Not eating his right hand. Not walking into his right hand. His left hook, his 2-3 is one of the best combinations I’ve seen in this sport, so it’s a beautiful challenge, and I love how scared I’ll be,” he added.
Topuria has become one of the biggest stars in all of mixed martial arts today following his knockout victory against Charles Oliveira in June 2025 to capture the lightweight belt.
‘El Matador’, who remained undefeated and extended his professional record to 17-0, moved up from featherweight to conquer the lightweight division after a dominant run that included wins over top contenders like Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell.