Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria are engaging in a verbal battle ahead of UFC White House
Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria are just days away from fighting each other but that hasn’t stopped an escalating war of words that has now turned personal.
In the leadup to the lightweight title unification bout that headlines the UFC White House card on Sunday, battle lines have been drawn with family members now getting pulled into the fray. Gaethje’s father made a prediction for the fight, which got under Topuria’s skin and then Gaethje commented that he understood why Topuria’s wife wanted a divorce due to his inflated ego.
That led to Topuria promising to knock out Gaethje inside of two minutes and putting him to sleep “in front of your whole family” on Sunday. It didn’t take long for Gaethje to respond while reminding Topuria that he never said anything negative about his ex-wife but rather sympathized with her situation going through the divorce.
“Proving my point,” Gaethje wrote on Twitter. “Insufferable little bitch boy. Never said a thing about your wife. You want to speak words to my father then act like I crossed some line. We already fighting buddy.”
Of course, Topuria wasted no time with his own response as the lightweights continued taking aim at each other on social media.
“You should’ve kept your father out of this,” Topuria wrote. “He was the one calling me a short guy and saying you’d smash me, all while holding a beer in his hand. Then you started talking about my divorce and telling the world you wouldn’t want to be my roommate. Idiot.
“First, we’re fighting, not dating. Second, I’m not looking for a roommate. When I put you to sleep and you’re lying there next to the rose, I’ll look at your father and ask him one simple question: Who’s the short one now? I’m gonna break you Justin.”
What started as a respectful title fight has turned very personal, especially with the latest comments from Topuria and Gaethje.
The bad blood might continue to escalate as the fight draws nearer, especially with Topuria and Gaethje scheduled to come face-to-face on Friday at the UFC White House press conference and then again at the ceremonial weigh-ins on Saturday.
The lightweights finally settle their differences when they meet in the octagon on Sunday in the main event from the White House with the card kicking off at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
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