Justin Gaethje may have proven he is better than Paddy Pimblett. But he has another thing coming with his title fight against Ilia Topuria. At least, that’s how the public feels about their UFC Freedom 250 fight on June 14 at the White House lawn.

‘El Matador’ recently shared a video on YouTube, part of his Road to UFC White House series. In the video, the former two-division champion is seen sparring with IFL’s undefeated bantamweight prospect Lazaro Dayron and another sparring partner, preparing for the upcoming fight.

“Ilia Topuria destroying his sparring partners in preparation for the Justin Gaethje fight 😳,” wrote Championship Rounds while sharing the clip from the video on X. “They were really asking him to go lighter 😭.”

In the video, recorded at PAI Wrestling/MMA in Miami, Ilia Topuria dominated Dayron with tight combinations—jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts—while maintaining excellent head movement and footwork. Even after swapping sparring partners, his dominance continues. 

The Spaniard mixed in level changes and seamlessly transitioned between boxing range and ground work. Besides his overwhelming supremacy in sparring, the 29-year-old has defeated opponents who have defeated Justin Gaethje in previous fights. 

Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira are two prime examples. Not to mention, Ilia Topuria even has the age advantage over ‘The Highlight’ by almost a decade. Naturally, when fans discovered the post from Championship Rounds, they started worrying for Justin Gaethje. 

Islam Makhachev gets roped into Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje conversation

After watching Topuria’s sparring clip, while many feared for Gaethje, this user roped in Islam Makhachev. The user posted: “[At this point,] I can’t even blame Islam [for] ducking him anymore, I would too if I [were] him.” After the Freedom 250 card was announced, it was revealed that Makhachev had been approached for the fight. However, it didn’t happen. So, both sides have been blaming each other for the fight’s failure. 

The next fan, however, recognized what Topuria could do to ‘The Highlight.’ “Bro, that’s insane 🔥 Ilia is a f—king problem. Gaethje better bring that iron chin and pressure because Topuria looks like he’s on demon time rn. 💪🏼,” the fan commented. Gaethje was also written off by many before his fight against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324. But the 37-year-old utterly dominated Pimblett. 

Meanwhile, this user predicted it would be Gaethje’s last fight. “Ilia Topuria is going to LIGHT UP Justin Gaethje at the White House, he’s getting KNOCKED into retirement,” the user wrote. But, according to Gaethje, he is not retiring till 2027. 

The next fan kept his take short, but impactful. “Gaethje is f—ked 😭😭,” the user claimed. While Ilia Topuria is one of the best in UFC, ‘The Highlight’ has been dominated in the promotion before and still survived. 

While everyone else appeared to have written Justin Gaethje out, this fan had other ideas. “If these are the best partners simulating Gaethje, don’t be surprised if we see Ilia struggle in some rounds. Justin has a nice reach and can be tricky with his leg kicks. I think the story will be if  Justin’s chin can hold, and if it does, can Ilia get to a takedown?” the user felt. Despite his supremacy on the feet, Ilia Topuria’s background involves high-level grappling. So, it might not be that much of an issue. 

From the looks of things, even though the fight is over a month away, Justin Gaethje has been written off already. Previously, a snap from the same video also caused some fears about Topuria’s potential weight miss.