UFC commentator Jon Anik says Justin Gaethje was irate at Topuria vs Oliveira match-up
UFC commentator Jon Anik has revealed that Justin Gaethje was 'p****d' at the promotion's decision to pair Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira in a lightweight title fight.
On 28 June, Topuria and Oliveira will clash over the vacant belt, after Islam Makhachev relinquished the gold to move up to welterweight. There, Makhachev is set for a title shot, just as Topuria will fight for the lightweight title after vacating the featherweight strap in February.
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In Oliveira, Topuria will square off with a former lightweight champion, yet Gaethje apparently believes he should be in the UFC 317 main event – at the expense of one of those fighters.
'He was p****d,' Anik said on The Anik & Florian Podcast. 'He feels like certainly he was passed over in favour of Charles Oliveira for this opportunity against Ilia Topuria.
'I think what Justin Gaethje and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, are looking for is just some sort of guarantee that they will be next. Because it's 19 May, and the good news for this Topuria-Oliveira fight is that it's f******g 28 June – it's less than six weeks away.
'So, I don't think it's a crazy request for Justin, having done what he did against Rafael Fiziev: staying on the fight card, not fighting Dan Hooker, getting a win, distance from the UFC 300 result.'
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Anik was referring to Gaethje's decision win over Rafael Fiziev in March, which saw the American compete after Dan Hooker's withdrawal and bounce back from a brutal knockout by Max Holloway.
Justin Gaethje (right) during his second win over Rafael Fiziev, in March (Getty Images)
'And by the way, he fought [Holloway] at UFC 300 to help the UFC,' Anik continued. 'He could have fought for the undisputed championship at that point in time, so I wouldn't be surprised if Gaethje gets some sort of guarantee that he's next for the Topuria-Oliveira winner. But I can just tell you Justin was not thrilled.'
While Topuria, 28, is unbeaten in the UFC and in MMA more widely, Gaethje and Oliveira are both 3-2 in their last five bouts. Oliveira submitted Gaethje in 2022 in what was due to be a title defence, but the Brazilian missed weight the day before the fight, thus he was stripped of the belt and ineligible to win it the following night.
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In his next bout, Oliveira, 35, was submitted by Makhachev in a vacant-title fight, before he bounced back by stopping Beneil Dariush in 2023. A close decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan ensued at UFC 300 last April, but Oliveira again responded well as he outpointed Michael Chandler in November.
Meanwhile, Gaethje – a former interim champion – bounced back from his loss to Oliveira by narrowly outpointing Fiziev in 2023, before knocking out Dustin Poirier to win the 'Baddest Motherf*****' title. Gaethje, 36, lost the belt to Holloway but got back to winning ways with his second win over Fiziev.
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