Ilia Topuria has a message for U.S. president Donald Trump regarding his main event fight against Justin Gaethje at the UFC White House event on June 14th.
“Don’t blink or start fixing your hair,” Topuria joked. “Because it’s going to be over quickly.”
Topuria sat down with Spanish outlet Marca to discuss his upcoming lightweight title unification bout with Gaethje, and while there was plenty of trash talk from the fighter (who has already updated his record on Instagram to include a future KO of Gaethje),
he also offered up a measured and realistic opinion of how he thought the “Highlight” fight would go.
“With Justin Gaethje, everyone is saying ‘This is a super easy fight, he’s going to get knocked out really fast,'” Topuria began. “But they’re forgetting that Justin Gaethje is a very tough guy with a ton of experience. It’s a tough fight, but at the same time there are levels to this. Everyone has their moment and I feel like this is my moment and the victory is mine.”
“Based on his fighting style, how he comes out in every fight, I see it ending quickly, honestly,” he continued. “I see it similar to the Charles Oliveira fight. Because I don’t see him as someone who’s going to trade and then back up, or fight while moving backward. I think he’s the kind of guy who offers a fight. And when you do that, I think you’re making a mistake. Especially when you’re fighting someone like me, who has so much technique.”
Charles Oliveira came out and tried to fight fire with fire against Topuria, brawling with the sniper. That didn’t work out for him: he got knocked out just two and a half minutes into the fight. Now “El Matador” is facing Gaethje, who is infamous for never using his wrestling and committing to a war on the feet. While his last fight against Paddy Pimblett was entertaining and fun, it wasn’t the kind of performance that would earn him a win against Topuria.
Ilia’s prediction for the White House fight?
“I think it’s going to [end] in the first round.”
