Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev dispute who declined White House fight

A public disagreement has erupted between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev regarding a potential fight that was supposed to be announced at the White House. Topuria claimed he was told hours before the announcement that he would fight Makhachev, but was then informed that Islam had suffered an injury and he would instead face Justin Gaethje. He expressed confusion about why Makhachev doesn't want to fight him. Makhachev responded by stating he's tired of hearing fabrications from Topuria and his team, claiming he agreed to the White House fight but was told Topuria requested a huge fee and was denied. Islam stated that Topuria refused the fight and that even Topuria's manager confirmed this version of events. In a separate note, when a fan commented about the late-night social media activity, Makhachev replied that Ali Abdelaziz was not posting on his behalf this time.