Topuria and Makhachev dispute who refused White House fight announcement

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev are publicly disputing the circumstances around a potential fight between them at the White House card. Topuria claims he went to sleep expecting to fight Makhachev and was told hours before the announcement that Islam was injured, leading to his fight with Gaethje instead. Makhachev responded by stating he is tired of Topuria's fabrications, claiming he agreed to the fight but that Topuria requested an enormous purse and was denied. Makhachev insisted that Topuria refused the bout and that even Topuria's manager confirmed this version of events. The exchange includes Makhachev clarifying that his manager Ali Abdelaziz was not the one posting at 4 AM. Meanwhile, Jorge Masvidal and Orion Cosce predicted Sean Strickland would defeat Khamzat Chimaev, with Masvidal calling Chimaev's style 'sitting and smelling crotches.' Dricus Du Plessis stated Adesanya was his most technical opponent while Strickland and Tavares were his toughest, notably excluding Chimaev from consideration as he doesn't view their encounter as a real fight.