Topuria and Makhachev exchange conflicting accounts of White House fight negotiations

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev have provided contradictory narratives about what happened with their planned White House event bout. Topuria claimed he went to sleep knowing the fight with Islam was scheduled to be announced, but was then called hours before the announcement and told Makhachev was injured and he would fight Justin Gaethje instead. Islam countered that he accepted the White House fight when offered, but was told the next day that Topuria requested an enormous purse and was turned down, with his own manager confirming this version. Makhachev accused Topuria of lying and stated it was Topuria who refused the bout. In an unusual twist, when a fan commented at 4 AM suggesting it was manager Ali Abdelaziz posting, the Makhachev account replied "Today it's not him," adding another layer of intrigue to the social media dispute.