Building the UFC’s White House card was always going to be complicated. But as the dust settles from UFC 324, one matchup is starting to feel less like speculation and more like inevitability: Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje.

Gaethje didn’t just win an interim title on Saturday; he delivered the kind of five-round statement that forces the promotion’s hand. Topuria, meanwhile, remains the undisputed lightweight champion, undefeated and looming, even while dealing with personal matters away from the Octagon.

Strip away the noise, and this matchup offers something the White House card desperately needs: competitive legitimacy. And according to respected voices like Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, the answer is right in front of us.

Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman cut straight through the noise with, “There’s a lot of speculations going on, ‘Oh, is Conor [McGregor] gonna come back? Is Jon [Jones] gonna fight [Alex] Pereira?’” He acknowledged that Dana White himself seems undecided on those fronts. Then he made his case.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ said, “But, I believe with performance like this man has delivered each and every time, I believe Justin and Ilia potentially becomes the headliner for that card.”

It’s hard to argue with that logic, and Henry Cejudo didn’t hesitate to co-sign as he said, “You’re 100 % right. And you’re 100 % right, and it should be.”

From his perspective, competitive fairness points directly to Gaethje vs. Topuria. Then Cejudo added the wrinkle the UFC would love to sell. “In the perfect picture, you would want Justin to fight Ilia, beat him at the White House, while being an American. Now, will that happen? F—“

That unfinished thought says everything. The storyline writes itself, but the outcome is anything but guaranteed.

From the UFC’s standpoint, this fight solves multiple problems at once. Dana White has already shut down the idea of McGregor vs. Chandler at the White House, calling it outdated. The boss even once joked about “a billion to one odds” of Jon Jones appearing on the card, and while he hasn’t closed the door entirely, nothing about that situation feels stable.

Justin Gaethje also made it clear post-fight that he wants the White House slot with a blunt, “There’s no way they’re keeping me off that card unless I’m dead.” He also acknowledged the damage Pimblett inflicted and his need for time off, but the timeline for his return lines up perfectly.

If the UFC truly wants the White House card to represent the sport at its best, not just its loudest, then Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo may already have pointed to the answer. Yet, according to another former champion, that answer might spell real trouble for the newly crowned interim lightweight king.

Robert Whittaker hands Justin Gaethje a warning about his chances against Ilia Topuria

Robert Whittaker isn’t buying Justin Gaethje’s chances against Ilia Topuria, at least not as things stand. Gaethje’s performance at UFC 324 was vintage chaos. He dragged Paddy Pimblett into deep waters, knocked him down early, and battered him across five rounds to secure the interim belt.

It was violent, relentless, and effective. But ‘The Reaper’ sees that same approach as a liability against a very different kind of opponent.

Speaking on his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker said, “Ilia’s striking is leagues above everybody in the UFC, the wrestling and jiu-jitsu are there, as well. His timing, his instincts, his instincts to fire off, his counterattacks – he’ll make you pay for every step you take. It’s a hard fight.”

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The solution? Whittaker said Gaethje would need to make real adjustments for the Topuria fight because the version that went to war with ‘The Baddy’ wouldn’t be enough.

The ‘swing for the fences’ approach worked for the UFC 324 matchup, but if Gaethje fights ‘El Matador’ the same way, it likely won’t end well. Whittaker, however, left open the possibility that Gaethje shows a very different game plan when the time comes.

Usman and Cejudo see a main event built on merit. But Robert Whittaker’s warning adds the final layer of intrigue. If this fight happens, the pressure will be on Gaethje to evolve fast enough to survive one of the most complete champions the UFC has ever produced. The stage will be historic, and the margin for error will be razor-thin!