A public disagreement has erupted between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev over a planned fight that was supposed to be announced at a White House event. Topuria claims he went to sleep knowing the fight was scheduled but received a call hours before the announcement saying Makhachev was injured and he would fight Justin Gaethje instead. Makhachev fired back, saying he agreed to the fight but Topuria requested an enormous purse and was denied, which he claims Topuria's own manager confirmed. The heated exchange included Makhachev denying his manager Ali Abdelaziz was behind the late-night response. Meanwhile, Jorge Masvidal and Orion Cosce both picked Sean Strickland to defeat Khamzat Chimaev, with Masvidal criticizing Chimaev's fighting style and Cosce refusing to comment due to personal dislike of Chimaev.
