Ilia Topuria claims he was told he would fight Islam Makhachev at the White House event just hours before the announcement, but that Makhachev withdrew with an injury. Islam Makhachev counters that he agreed to the fight but Topuria demanded an enormous purse and was denied, resulting in Topuria being matched with Justin Gaethje instead. Each fighter accuses the other of lying about who turned down the bout. Makhachev posted his response at 4 AM, leading to fan speculation about who was actually writing his messages. Meanwhile, Jorge Masvidal and Orion Cosce both picked Sean Strickland to beat Hamzat Chimaev, with Masvidal dismissing Chimaev's style as "sitting and smelling crotches."
