Ilia Topuria claimed he was informed hours before the White House event announcement that he would fight Islam Makhachev, only to be told Makhachev was injured and replaced with Justin Gaethje. Topuria stated he went to bed expecting the Makhachev fight and questioned why the lightweight champion does not want to face him. Islam Makhachev fired back, saying he accepted the White House fight but was told Topuria demanded an enormous fee and was denied, leading to the bout being scrapped. Makhachev insisted that Topuria's team manager confirmed this version and accused Topuria of lying. The post also notes that Jorge Masvidal and Orion Cosce picked Sean Strickland over Khamzat Chimaev, while Dricus du Plessis said Israel Adesanya was his most technical opponent and Sean Strickland and Thales Leites were his toughest, with Chimaev not making the list.
