The fans want a Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria rematch. Ilia Topuria wants it. The UFC wants it. But Justin Gaethje does not, according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Gaethje took the UFC lightweight title off Topuria in a brutal war on the White House lawn back in June, forcing Topuria’s corner to throw in the towel after the fourth round. Few had given Justin a chance of winning, and now “The Highlight” seems uninterested in giving Ilia a chance to win that fight back.
Topuria just did a media blitz
of interviews, and a big topic of discussion was a potential Gaethje rematch. Topuria put up a poll on social media to ask his fans who they’d rather see him face off against. After 24 hours, Justin Gaethje edged out Paddy Pimblett, 474,000 votes to 385,000.
Alas, there continues to be no interest in the fight from Gaethje’s side.
“This rematch will never happen,” Gaethje’s manager Ali Abdelaziz tweeted and later deleted.
Abdelaziz also referred to a quote from Topuria thanking his brother for stopping the fight after the fourth round.
“I agree with him – his brother saved his life,” Abdelaziz wrote. “It’s very hard to come back from the trauma of a fight like that. I’ve seen Justin do this to many people, and coming back wasn’t easy for them. Wishing him the best of luck.”
Gaethje continues to flirt with retirement and has said he won’t come back unless it’s for a massive fight. And while the Topuria rematch certainly qualifies, it’s also a fight he won in dominant fashion. There’s no way for him to improve on the performance he gave on the White House lawn against Topuria, so why go back and do it again immediately?
‘Because it’d be awesome,’ is the obvious answer. But Gaethje is looking to wrap his career up on his terms, not be the foil in Ilia Topuria’s comeback story. If Abdelaziz is giving us a legit look into Gaethje’s mindset and not just posturing as a negotiation tactic, we’ll have to resign ourselves to … Gaethje vs. Tsarukyan or Volkanovski? Not the worst consolation prizes.
