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Ilia Topuria is ready to reclaim his throne.
Speculation has been rife in recent days regarding the potential return date for Topuria to the octagon, following his brutal battle with Justin Gaethje at the UFC event at the White House. Reports indicated that Topuria sustained several serious injuries, ultimately forcing his coaches to stop the fight after the fourth round to prevent further damage. Now, Topuria has finally issued his own statement, revealing he has received medical clearance to fight again and has a lot of work ahead of him.
“The latest medical tests are done. I’m back,” Topuria wrote on Twitter. “To all the clowns who talked nonsense and wrote me off all this time – here I am. Now let’s see who has the guts. Thank you all for your support. Next time, I’ll make sure they check Justin’s gloves so he doesn’t put anything strange on them. See you soon.”
This marks the first time Topuria has accused Gaethje of having something “strange” on his gloves during their fight. As for El Matador’s next bout, it’s possible the UFC might opt for an immediate rematch with Gaethje, given the attention and ratings their first fight garnered. There’s also a potential clash with Paddy Pimblett, with whom Topuria has had a fierce rivalry over the past few years.
Clearly, Topuria is eager to reclaim his title and delivered a direct jab at Gaethje and his manager Ali Abdelaziz after announcing to the world that he is ready to fight again.
“By the way, Justin, screw you,” Topuria wrote. “And Ali, screw you too.”
It didn’t take long for Gaethje to learn of Topuria’s readiness to fight again, as well as his strange accusation regarding the gloves from their June match.
“94 days and the best you could come up with is a lame excuse,” Gaethje retorted. “As terrible as your last performance. Try harder, kid.”
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