UFC
Justin Gaethje Believes A Win At UFC 313 Could Derail Ilia Topuria’s Lightweight Title Shot
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Justin Gaethje believes a win in his UFC 313 co-main event against Rafael Fiziev will derail the lightweight title hopes of Ilia Topuria.
Justin Gaethje Believes UFC 313 Win Will Steal Ilia Topuria Title Shot
The UFC 313 co-main event looked to be destroyed as Dan Hooker was forced to pull out of the fight and left Gaethje with no opponent.
However, Fiziev showed no hesitation in g up for a fight against ‘The Highlight’ and the two will face off at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC fans may be left slightly frustrated as a fight between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker has the makings of one of the best fights in history – given their relentless styles.
Gaethje and Fiziev have already gone to war in the Octagon, as The Highlight won via decision in March 2023 at the O2 Arena in London.
The two will now run it back, but Gaethje has revealed that it was not his first choice and he originally wanted to face one of Charles Oliveira or Arman Tsarukyan.
Gaethje said: “My two preferred options were Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan, that’s the number one and number two contender and I knew for a fact if I was to go in there and get a win over those guys without a doubt I’d be fighting for the belt next.
“You know, it really doesn’t matter who it is, timing is everything in this sport, we saw what Dustin Poirier did, I beat him and then he fought for the belt right after that and I think the timing is gonna line up well.
“I go in there and get a finish with an outstanding performance like I always do, I think I’ll be one of the guys that they consider to fight Makhachev.”
The lightweight division saw an injection of flesh blood in recent weeks, as featherweight champion Ilia Topuria decided to vacate his belt and move up to 155-pounds.
Topuria believes he will go straight into a title fight against Islam Makhachev, however, the 155lbs champion believes the Spanish/Georgian fighter should fight a top contender first.
Makhachev even identified Gaethje as a more worthy opponent and a win over Fiziev at UFC 313 could get the attention of Dana White.