Overview
- Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria by fourth-round stoppage at the UFC White House event in June, and Topuria’s corner stopped the fight after severe facial and foot injuries.
- Topuria says he suffered fractures to both orbital bones, a broken septum and a broken foot and expects to resume full contact training in January with a target return to fight between April and June 2027.
- Ali Abdelaziz, Gaethje’s manager, posted on social media that a rematch “will never happen” and later deleted the message, signaling resistance from Gaethje’s camp to an immediate rematch.
- Topuria is publicly campaigning for a rematch by running a fan poll and trading barbs with contenders such as Paddy Pimblett and Arman Tsarukyan to build leverage for a high‑profile return.
- Gaethje has suggested he may only fight again for a massive payday, which makes matchups with Tsarukyan or Alexander Volkanovski more likely and leaves the lightweight title picture in flux for 2027.