UFC Champ Justin Gaethje Names Next Opponent, Bashes Ilia Topuria

Justin Gaethje has already announced that he’s eyeing an early 2027 return. He’s currently nursing a string of injuries suffered while beating Ilia Topuria at UFC White House in June, and he needs time to heal. With an imminent return on the horizon, the 37-year-old decided to lift the veil on who he’ll face in his first title defense.

In a recent appearance on comedian Andrew Schulz’s podcast, Flagrant, Gaethje said Arman Tsarukyan is the only man he’d be putting his belt on the line against.  

“Everyone’s like, ‘You f—g fight Arman,'” Gaethje said. “I don’t know what the f—k. I have injuries I have to take care of. I haven’t made a decision. But I am 37 years old. My first fight was in 2008. I’ve had 40 fights, including my amateur fights, so I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t want to fight Arman. It really isn’t. He’s the next in line. If and when I defend this championship, that will be who I fight.” 

Arman Tsarukyan scored a big win over Mauricio Ruffy last week at UFC 331 in California. The Armenian landed two back-to-back elbows from the clinch that put the Brazilian to sleep at 4:56 of the first round. For Tsarukyan, who has been chasing a title shot for ages, that win served as a statement. Even UFC CEO Dana White was highly impressed with the performance.

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During the post-fight press conference, reporters asked White whether Tsarukyan’s performance was enough to earn him a title shot. As usual, the UFC boss didn’t provide a clear answer, but he did say the Armenian is in a “very good place.” However, White also indicated that the final call ultimately rests with champion Justin Gaethje, who watched Tsarukyan put on a show in California.

“I don’t know. We’ll see,” White said at the UFC 331 post-fight press conference. “That’s up to… we don’t know what Gaethje is thinking yet. He was here tonight, so he saw the fight. We’ll see where his head is at.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Gaethje has shown interest in defending his belt against Tsarukyan. Back in July, the lightweight champion told RMC Sport he wasn’t interested in a rematch with Topuria because Tsarukyan “deserves” the shot more. After witnessing ‘The Batman’s stellar knockout past Saturday, it’s safe to say Gaethje’s mind hasn’t changed much.

While the Arizona native made his thoughts on the next contender clear, he also took some shots at Topuria amid their ongoing beef.  

Justin Gaethje believes Ilia Topuria doesn’t belong in the lightweight division 

Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria have been trading barbs online ever since the Spaniard announced he’s medically cleared to fight. The former lightweight champion recently accused Gaethje of glove tampering at their UFC White House bout, a claim Topuria received plenty of backlash for. Adding more fuel to the fire, ‘The Highlight’ has bashed ‘El Matador’ once again.

In the same interview, Gaethje said Topuria is very “undersized” for the division and advised him to drop down to featherweight.

“I don’t think he’s a lightweight,” Gaethje said. “I think he should go down. I think he can beat Volkanovski and be champion at featherweight. I don’t think he’ll ever be champion at lightweight. He can’t beat Arman. He’s going to have a difficult time with Paddy. There is a bunch of dogs.”

Topuria is generally considered an average-sized lightweight. His height is listed at 5’7″ with a 69-inch reach. Even so, he’s defeated much taller and rangier fighters like Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway, who’s now a lightweight. Still, Gaethje isn’t alone in thinking the Spaniard is a bit small for the division.

Dustin Poirier, after meeting Topuria in person, said on the Deep Waters Podcast that Topuria is a perfect-sized featherweight and advised him to move back down to his former division.

With Gaethje finally making clear his intentions to fight Tsarukyan, the UFC is expected to move in that direction. Going by pure merit, the champion facing the prime contender makes the most sense. However, Gaethje’s ongoing controversy with Topuria could also push matchmakers to explore a rematch, which would sell just as well.

That said, it will be interesting to see where the lightweight division heads from here.

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