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Just a few weeks ago, there was no indication that the fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje would get personal. Today, however, tensions between the fighters are clearly rising, and the lightweight champion has made no secret of the fact that he has lost respect for his closest rival.
After moving up to light heavyweight, “El Matador” was primarily hoping for a clash with Islam Makhachev. However, the situation in the UFC turned out differently. The organization decided to match Justin Gaethje against Paddy Pimblett for the interim championship belt in Topuria’s absence.
Although media-wise the UFC would probably have been more eager to see a duel between the undefeated Spaniard and the charismatic Englishman, the sport wrote its own script. Gaethje defeated Pimblett and won his status as the mandatory challenger for the undisputed title.
For most of the promotion, both fighters referred to each other with appreciation. However, everything changed a dozen days before the UFC Freedom 250 gala.
The first stronger words came from the American’s entourage. Justin Gaethje’s father stated that his son has repeatedly proven that he can handle inferior opponents. Later, “The Highlight” himself spoke out.
The former UFC interim champion attacked Topuria personally. He called him a man in love with himself, accused him of having an exuberant ego and stated that he understood perfectly well the reasons for the breakup of his marriage. It was this last comment that the champion particularly disliked.
In the first episode of the UFC Embedded series, “El Matador” decided to respond in a very blunt way.
“Take this, Justin [shoots double birds],” Topuria said. “Actually, I thought he was a great guy. But since he crossed the personal line, he’s not going to have my respect; he’s not going to have my team’s respect.
However, the champion does not intend to wage a media war over the next few days. According to him, the most important answer will come during the fight itself.
“All I’m going to need is 2 minutes in the octagon with you, and I’m going to put you to sleep in front of your whole family, your country, in front of everyone.”
Such harsh declarations from Topuria are not often heard. So far, the Spaniard has usually focused on his skills and predicting the course of fights. This time, however, he makes no secret of the fact that he took Gaethje’s statements personally.
So everything points to the fact that not only will the two best fighters in the lightweight category enter the cage at UFC Freedom 250, but also rivals who have something to prove to each other. And that usually means even more excitement than the excitement that comes solely from fighting for a championship belt.
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