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MMA Newsvia Sherdog

Ilia Topuria Cleared to Return, Rips Gaethje Over Excuses

Illustration: a fighter stands in a fighting stance, fists raised, looking to their left
Illustration by Open Scoring MMA. Generated art, not a photograph, and not a likeness of any real fighter.

Ilia Topuria says he's back to full fitness after his first career loss to Justin Gaethje, and he wasted no time getting back to needling his rival. Topuria thanked his supporters and joked that next time he'll make sure officials check Gaethje's gloves so he doesn't put anything weird on them, before mocking Gaethje's explanation for the loss by telling him to do better. Gaethje, for his part, responded on record that he'd be open to a rematch, saying he already beat the crap out of Topuria once and would do it again, while ESPN's Anik floated the idea that the UFC should seriously consider putting Topuria back in a title picture given how big their White House main event was.

Sources (3)

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This story ran in the September 17, 2026 edition of the daily show.