Ilia Topuria ran a fan poll, won it, tagged Dana White with the results, and then got hit with the most Ali Abdelaziz response imaginable. Gaethje’s manager went on X early Sunday and wrote, “This rematch will never happen,” before adding that he agreed with Topuria that “his brother saved his life.” Then, as Championship Rounds and MMA Mania noted, the post disappeared.
That deletion is the whole story. Abdelaziz is right that Justin Gaethje has zero reason to rush back into a cage with Topuria. He is also a manager who has said, according to Bloody Elbow, that he wants Gaethje to fight one more time in whatever matchup pays the most. Put those two facts next to each other and “never” starts sounding a lot like an opening bid.
Gaethje already won this fight, and won it big
Quick refresher for anyone who blacked out from the fireworks. On June 14 at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn, Gaethje took the lightweight title from Topuria in a five-round scheduled main event that never saw Round 5. Topuria’s corner, led by his brother Aleksandre, waved it off after Round 4. It was the first loss of Topuria’s pro career, he left with a serious injury, and, per MMA Mania, few people gave Gaethje a chance going in. Abdelaziz himself said on Submission Radio in September that Topuria “was a favorite because everybody thought he was better than Justin.”
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So Gaethje walked into the biggest venue in UFC history as the underdog and left with the belt and a performance he can’t top. MMA Mania made the point cleanly: there’s nothing to improve on. You don’t remake a movie the year after it wins Best Picture.
And the trauma line, as mean as it reads, has some receipts behind it. Essentially Sports connected it to Dustin Poirier, whom Gaethje folded with a head kick in Round 2 at UFC 291 on July 29, 2023. Poirier did beat Benoit Saint Denis afterward, but then dropped fights to Islam Makhachev and Max Holloway before retiring. Abdelaziz wrote that he’s “seen Justin do this to many people, and coming back wasn’t easy for them.” Cold? Yes. Wrong? Ask the guy whose corner had to stop the fight.
Topuria has a better case than Ali wants to admit
Here’s where I get off the Abdelaziz bus. Topuria told One On One MMA that the White House fight was the biggest moment of Gaethje’s life and his biggest payday, and that “I don’t think that he’s going to retire without one more paycheck.” He’s not wrong. Bloody Elbow argued that Topuria’s name still makes this the biggest lightweight fight available to Gaethje, loss and all. The poll backs him up too: after 24 hours, MMA Mania reported, Gaethje beat Paddy Pimblett 474,000 votes to 385,000.
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Nearly half a million people asking for a fight is a number that makes UFC matchmakers sit up, and MMA Mania flat out said the UFC wants it. Abdelaziz can say Topuria “doesn’t call the shots,” and that only Conor McGregor ever did, but the guy holding the checkbook might care more about that 474,000 than about Ali’s feelings.
Also, a little history. Abdelaziz has run this exact play before. In 2018 he told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that McGregor was worthless and had no value left after Khabib Nurmagomedov beat him. Freezing out the loser is a classic Ali move, and it makes the other side feel small heading into negotiations. I love it as theater. I just don’t confuse it with a final answer.
What Gaethje actually said matters more
The best evidence for Team Never comes from Gaethje himself. He said Topuria should drop back down to featherweight, claimed he could beat Alexander Volkanovski there, and added that he doesn’t see Topuria ever becoming a champion at lightweight. He listed Arman Tsarukyan and Pimblett as problems for Topuria and described the division as full of dogs.
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That’s a champion telling the former champ to get back in line. Bloody Elbow did note that Gaethje has hinted at changing his mind before, and Essentially Sports pointed out he’s historically been open to rematches, including running it back with Poirier after losing to him in April 2018. The difference is obvious. Those were fights Gaethje lost or wanted to settle. This one is settled.
My take: Gaethje is right to say no right now, and nobody gets to call it ducking when you’re the one who handed the other guy his first loss. Tsarukyan is the fight that makes sense, and MMA Mania floated Volkanovski as another option. But Gaethje keeps flirting with retirement and says he only comes back for a massive fight, and his manager wants the biggest check. If the UFC slides the right number across the table, I’d bet on “never” lasting about as long as that deleted tweet did.
