Ilia
Topuria is confident that he will finish Justin
Gaethje in the very first round.
Topuria looks to defend his lightweight title against interim
champion Justin
Gaethje in the main event at
UFC White House on June 14. While the fight is scheduled for
five rounds, Topuria doesn’t see it going past the first round. “El
Matador” clarifies that he has the gas tank to go for way more than
the 25 scheduled minutes if required. Topuria claims he knows how
it feels to push past his breaking point. However, the undefeated
Georgian-Spaniard is confident that he won’t need more than five
minutes to finish Gaethje. Topuria just wants to make it a
highlight-reel finish.
Faith in His Skills
“I have the stamina to go not for five rounds, but for five days,”
Topuria told UFC on Paramount+. “I know how it feels when
you’re tired, when you can’t do more, and you never give up. So I’m
ready. But I have the complete faith that I am going to finish him
in the first round. I just want to make it look
beautiful.”
This is Gaethje’s (27-5) third bid for an undisputed
UFC title. “The Highlight” has gone 4-1 since his last failed
bid against Charles
Oliveira in 2022. Gaethje became the interim champion with a
dominant beatdown of Paddy
Pimblett this past January. Meanwhile, Topuria (17-0) won the
featherweight title and defended it once before moving up and
winning the lightweight title. Topuria has put three legends to
sleep in the process: Alexander
Volkanovski, Max
Holloway, and Oliveira.