Jon Anik recently shared his thoughts on a potential Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria rematch.
Gaethje and Topuria threw down in a lightweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250 in June. While most expected Topuria to breeze past Gaethje, the American pulled off an incredible fourth-round knockout victory and took home the 155-pound championship.
While Gaethje categorically dismissed the idea of an immediate rematch against Topuria, Anik has claimed that the promotion may have plans to book them again. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the UFC commentator said:
“I think there are internal conversations to potentially try to do Gaethje vs. Topuria 2. A lot of people wonder aloud, ‘What is next for Ilia Topuria?’ And there’s certainly an obvious foundation for a fight between him and Paddy Pimblett. But, if you have Ilia Topuria, as a fight promoter, would you not maybe want to think about putting him back in a championship setting, given how big UFC Freedom 250 was? I think there’s strong consideration there.”
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He added:
“I think he probably is going to fight, if you take manager Ali Abdelaziz at his word. I sort of thought maybe Mom would be like, ‘Justin, this is a great note upon which to go out,’ but I don’t think it’s going to be up to Justin. I say that with all due respect. I think Justin is far more concerned with his show money than he is with who he’s actually fighting.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]
Watch the full video below:
Justin Gaethje names Conor McGregor as preferred next opponent
After Justin Gaethje beat Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250, Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway threw their names in for a potential title shot. However, it appears Gaethje isn’t interested.
In an interview with Paramount+, Gaethje named Conor McGregor as his preferred opponent next and said:
“D**n, there’s really no one. It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I’m going to go ahead and justify it to myself like I got them back. So I guess McGregor. Fun to shut him up.”
Edited by Nishant Zende.
