Fans Want Justin Gaethje Vs. Ilia Topuria’s rematch. Ilia Topuria wants it. The UFC wants it. But Justin Gaethje is 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 to win, and now it seems like “The Highlight” isn’t interested in giving Ilia a chance to win this fight back.
Topuria was just doing media interviews and the big topic of discussion was a potential Gaethje rematch. Topuria held a poll on social media to ask her fans who they would rather see her face off against. After 24 hours, Justin Gaethje defeated Paddy Pimblett, 474,000 votes to 385,000.
Unfortunately, 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.
“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 will not return unless it’s a mass brawl. And while Topuria’s rematch certainly qualifies, it’s also a fight he won dominantly. 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 would be great,” is the obvious answer. But Gaethje wants to end his career on his own terms rather than be the focus of 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.