Topuria and Makhachev dispute details of White House fight negotiations

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev have provided conflicting accounts about negotiations for their potential White House event fight. Topuria claims he went to sleep knowing the fight with Makhachev was scheduled to be announced, but received a call hours before the announcement stating Makhachev was injured and he would fight Justin Gaethje instead. Makhachev countered that he agreed to the White House bout when contacted, but was told the next day that Topuria demanded a huge fee and was denied, with Topuria's own manager allegedly confirming this version. Makhachev accused Topuria of lying and stated "it's not him" posting at 4 AM when a fan suggested he go to sleep. The public dispute highlights ongoing confusion about which side is accurately representing what transpired during fight negotiations. Both fighters are accusing the other of dishonesty regarding who actually declined or caused the fight to fall through.