Justin Gaethje shares his perspective on Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev’s UFC White House dispute
Justin Gaethje might have been overlooked, but instead, he’s landed the top spot in the UFC White House main event. After taking home the interim belt by beating Paddy Pimblett in January, Gaethje looked set for a huge unification bout.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Justin Gaethje might have been overlooked, but instead, he’s landed the top spot in the UFC White House main event. After taking home the interim belt by beating Paddy Pimblett in January, Gaethje looked set for a huge unification bout. But fans were more interested in seeing a superfight between two-weight champions Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev.
In the end, it didn’t matter. The Makhachev fight never materialised, and Gaethje got his shot anyway. He found out about it while watching cageside at UFC 326.
Gaethje opens up on how he landed the main event slot Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Both Islam Makhachev and Justin Gaethje are represented by Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, which added an interesting dynamic to the fight discussions. Speaking with Bloody Elbow via Duelbits, Gaethje shared what he was hearing from his side while things were still being decided. “From my side, it’s pretty simple,” Gaethje said.
“I stay ready. That’s always been my approach. There’s always a lot of noise around fights at this level.