Ilia Topuria explains why he sticks to his pre-fight rituals ahead of UFC White House Main Event

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC Few UFC fighters carry themselves with more self-belief than Ilia Topuria. The lightweight champion is set to make his first appearance of 2025 in June, having been out of action since last July’s stunning knockout of Charles Oliveira. Topuria was initially in talks to face Islam Makhachev but will instead step into a title unification bout against Justin Gaethje at UFC White House.

In the build-up to what promises to be one of the biggest nights in the sport’s history, Topuria has kept up his bold tradition of calling exactly how he sees things unfolding before they happen. Topuria explains why he edits his UFC record before fights Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Conor McGregor built a reputation during his rise in the UFC for making bold predictions that often ended up coming true. In some ways, Ilia Topuria isn’t much different.

Ever since he’s been involved in bigger fights, he’s shown a habit of declaring victory months before stepping into the cage. Before taking on Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title, Topuria updated his social media bio to ‘UFC featherweight world champion’ and added a win to his record long before they fought. He kept up this trend ahead of bouts with Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, both times calling the result in advance and backing it up by leaving each opponent unconscious.

Now, ahead of his June 14 meeting with Justin Gaethje, Topuria has already listed himself as ’18-0′ on social media, predicting another win over ‘The Highlight. ’ “For sure, we are gonna win that fight,” Topuria told One on One when asked about changing his bio. His confidence isn’t just for show – it extends into how he prepares mentally for each fight.