Topuria and Makhachev dispute who refused White House fight

Ilia Topuria claims he was scheduled to fight Islam Makhachev at a White House event but was told hours before the announcement that Makhachev was injured and he would instead fight Justin Gaethje. Makhachev countered that he agreed to the fight but Topuria requested a massive fee and was denied, with Topuria's own manager allegedly confirming this version. Makhachev posted his response at 4 a.m., leading a fan to tell him to sleep, to which he replied it was not Ali Abdelaziz posting. Additionally, Jorge Masvidal and Joaquin Buckley both picked Sean Strickland over Khamzat Chimaev, with Masvidal criticizing Chimaev's wrestling-heavy style. Dricus du Plessis named Israel Adesanya as his most technical opponent and Sean Strickland and Brad Tavares as his toughest, notably excluding Chimaev because he does not consider their encounter a real fight.