Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev provided drastically different versions of events regarding their proposed White House event bout. Topuria claimed he went to sleep knowing the fight with Makhachev was scheduled to be announced, only to receive a call hours before the announcement stating Makhachev was injured and he would fight Justin Gaethje instead. Makhachev countered by stating he agreed to the fight when offered, but was told the next day that Topuria requested an enormous purse and was denied, with even Topuria's manager allegedly confirming this version. Makhachev insisted Topuria rejected the fight and accused him of lying. In a curious social media exchange, when a fan suggested it was actually manager Ali Abdelaziz posting at 4 AM, Makhachev replied "today it's not him," adding another layer of intrigue. The conflicting accounts leave the true story unclear.
Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev have offered starkly contradictory accounts of how negotiations for a proposed White House event superfight broke down, leaving the true sequence of events very much in dispute.
Topuria, ranked number one pound-for-pound and second in the lightweight division at 17-1-0, says he went to sleep believing the fight against Makhachev had been set and was on the verge of announcement, only to receive a call hours later informing him that Makhachev was injured and that Justin Gaethje would be his opponent instead. The 29-year-old Spaniard, known as El Matador, is one of the sport's most active strikers, averaging 4.81 significant strikes per minute.
Makhachev tells a completely different story. The 34-year-old Russian holds a 28-1-0 record and currently competes at welterweight as champion. He claims he accepted the fight when it was first presented to him, but was told the following day that Topuria had demanded an outsized purse that was ultimately refused. Makhachev alleged that even Topuria's own manager backed up this version of events, and he flatly accused Topuria of lying about how the negotiations unfolded.
An additional, unusual detail emerged from a social media exchange when a fan suggested Makhachev's account may have actually been posted by manager Ali Abdelaziz. Makhachev responded by saying "today it's not him," a remark that added a further layer of ambiguity to an already murky situation.
Gaethje, 37, holds a 28-5-0 record and is himself a lightweight champion, averaging a remarkable 6.48 significant strikes per minute — making a potential bout with Topuria an appealing alternative for fans.
Why it matters
- A Topuria-Makhachev superfight would cross divisional lines and carry enormous prestige, crossing two championship belts
- Conflicting accounts from both camps leave the prospect of the fight — and its future viability — genuinely uncertain
- The involvement and apparent public role of management adds an unusual dimension to what is already a high-profile dispute
