Topuria and Makhachev dispute who turned down White House fight

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev have publicly contradicted each other's accounts of how their planned White House event fight fell apart. Topuria claimed he went to bed knowing he would fight Makhachev at the event, but was informed hours before the announcement that Islam had sustained an injury and he would instead face Justin Gaethje. He stated he doesn't know why Makhachev doesn't want to fight him. Makhachev fired back, saying he accepted the White House fight when offered, but was told the next day that Topuria demanded a massive purse and was denied, resulting in the bout being scrapped. He insisted that Topuria turned down the fight and even Topuria's manager confirmed it. When a fan joked about Ali Abdelaziz posting at 4 AM, Makhachev responded "Today it's not him," suggesting he personally wrote the response. The conflicting accounts have left fans confused about which fighter is telling the truth.