Ilia Topuria is telling fans not to stress over rumours that his fight with Justin Gaethje will not happen at the White House, even though he still has not heard anything official.
Earlier this year, the hard-hitting lightweight champion had to take a brief hiatus due to personal issues. As a result, Gaethje was given the opportunity to compete for the interim belt.
The situation seemed to be progressing perfectly when the 37-year-old American defeated Paddy Pimblett in January, while Topuria resumed to full-time training. However, despite Dana White's confirmation of the June 14 card, the two-division champion claims he has not yet officially signed a contract.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
There were fresh rumours going around that the UFC's plan to stage Topuria vs Gaethje as the main event for their White House show was unlikely to happen. The talk stems from reports by well-connected journalist Álvaro Colmenero.
The suggestion is that President Donald Trump may not want an American fighter facing a likely defeat to a Hispanic opponent in front of a home crowd, although this remains unconfirmed speculation at this point.
During a stream with Adin Ross, Topuria shrugged off those reports but also mentioned that he has not had any direct communication from the UFC about being part of the event.
"Who said this?" he asked, echoing Ross' belief that it was nothing more than speculation.
It is also worth noting there are two pay-per-view events scheduled before the White House showdown: UFC 327 in April and UFC 328 in May, both of which still lack official headliners.
When asked about who would main event that unique card, Topuria's answer was: "It could be me, no one knows. That's why I didn't get any call, I could get the call now… I think that they have to figure out so many things and they have so many things going on right now.
"It's not easy, it's easy to judge these things when you're outside but it's hard to deal with so much things when you are in it and people don't understand it."
Read more:
