Even for someone like UFC legend Ilia Topuria, separating from loved ones never comes easy. He aimed to make 2025 a career-defining year by claiming the vacated lightweight title, becoming the 10th UFC fighter to win championships in two divisions at UFC 317. Yet, life threw him unexpected challenges. Just months later, legal troubles and divorce drama upended his personal life.

The issues with his wife, Giorgina Uzcategui, forced Ilia Topuria to pause his career, preventing him from defending his title. To make matters worse, his 19-month-old daughter, Gio, got caught up in the dispute. Last month, the maternal dispute was finally resolved: Giorgina withdrew the domestic violence case against him, but ‘El Matador’ lost custody of his daughter. After months of silence and ahead of the UFC White House fight, Topuria finally opened up.

“Yes, I would say it was a disappointment,” Ilia Topuria told Alfredo Auditore in his latest outing. “No one wants to break up with their family, especially when you have a daughter at home.” 💔

It has been eight months since Ilia Topuria left the Octagon, leaving the lightweight division without a champion. During that difficult period, Topuria faced serious legal challenges, including allegations his ex-wife brought against him.

Topuria said, “In recent months, I have been subjected to severe and unacceptable pressure, including threats to disseminate false allegations of domestic abuse unless financial demands were met. These allegations are entirely unfounded. The truth is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of evidence.”

Meanwhile, while navigating these legal battles earlier this year, Topuria watched the UFC organize an interim title fight. At UFC 324, Justin Gaethje defeated Paddy Pimblett to claim the interim lightweight belt.

Now, on June 14th, Topuria will face Gaethje at UFC’s White House event, also called the Freedom 250, held on the eve of President Trump’s 80th birthday. Topuria will look to defend his title. Originally, Topuria wanted to fight Islam Makhachev, but unfortunately, the matchup never came together. Even before UFC officially scheduled it, Topuria openly expressed his frustration toward Makhachev.

Ilia Topuria accuses Islam Makhachev of dodging the fight

Since 2024, Ilia Topuria has pushed to face Islam Makhachev. At that time, Topuria held the featherweight title while Makhachev reigned as lightweight champion. Despite respecting each other’s skills, they never fought. Last year, they were set to meet, but then when Topuria moved up to lightweight and Makhachev advanced to welterweight, the matchup collapsed.

This year, the UFC offered Topuria a choice between fighting Makhachev or Justin Gaethje. He agreed to face Makhachev, but during negotiations, the UFC revealed Makhachev had injured his hand. As a result, the UFC booked Topuria against Gaethje for the lightweight unification bout at the White House event, which naturally fueled Topuria’s anger.

“Once again Islam comes up with an excuse, this time it’s an injury,” Topuria wrote on social media. “I always knew I would be part of the White House event. Even when the UFC told me at one point that they wouldn’t count on me for the event, I knew it was part of the negotiation. When they finally told me I would be on the White House card, they mentioned Islam and I didn’t hesitate for a second to accept the fight.”

Now, Ilia Topuria faces a setback in his dream to fight Islam Makhachev. However, after Topuria’s tweet, Makhachev targeted him for a fight. Topuria has yet to confirm that he will accept the matchup if the timing works, and ultimately, only Dana White can schedule when it will happen. So, stay tuned.