Dana White may think Ilia Topuria is ready to get back in the Octagon, but the former lightweight champion’s physical trainer, Jesus Gallo, isn’t exactly on the same page. While the UFC CEO recently claimed ‘El Matador’ is ready to fight, Gallo says the Spanish star hasn’t even started a proper MMA training camp yet.

For now, the Spanish-Georgian remains focused on rebuilding his body after suffering facial injuries, not rushing into a return fight.

“That is news to me,” he said as reported by MMA journalist Jorge Ebro. “I don’t know what [Dana] is referring to or what information he is using to make that kind of announcement. Right now, we are focused on starting to train and being able to re-establish a training camp. At this moment, [a return fight] is not our focus.

“Honestly, [Ilia] really is progressing incredibly well, but we still have not started an actual training camp. We haven’t even truly started doing any kind of MMA training yet.”

And to be fair, Gallo’s comments do put a bit of a question mark over Ilia Topuria’s comeback, especially after Dana White made it sound like the UFC was already getting things moving.

During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, the UFC CEO said the promotion was in contact with ‘El Matador’ and believed the former lightweight champion was ready to return.

“Topuria is ready to fight, and we’re ready for him,” White said.

That said, the head honcho also admitted that nothing had been officially booked yet. And when the conversation turned to potential opponents, he brought up two names that have been floating around Topuria for a while now: Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.

“Both sound good to me. They’re both great. We don’t lose with either one of those fights,” White said.

The CEO also called a rematch with ‘The Highlight’ an “incredible” matchup, while admitting that a fight with Pimblett would be a massive attraction for the UFC.

Ilia Topuria’s team, however, is painting a much more cautious picture of his comeback. After his brutal loss to Justin Gaethje, Jesus Gallo said the fighter was recovering well but still had a few boxes to tick before he could get back to full training.

He previously revealed that doctors expected the Spanish-Georgian’s orbital fractures to heal within six to eight weeks, largely because the fractures were not displaced. But that was only the first step.

Even after the bones healed, ‘El Matador’ would need more time before he could safely return to wrestling, striking, and the rest of his MMA training. So while Dana White sounds ready to get the ball rolling, Ilia Topuria’s team appears to be taking a much more measured approach.

At the time, Gallo floated December 2026 as a possible return window, but he was careful not to treat it as a done deal. His latest comments suggest the former lightweight champion is making progress physically, but he still hasn’t reached the point where a proper fight camp can get underway.

That hasn’t stopped the speculation, though. After Ilia Topuria suffered the first professional loss of his career, Justin Gaethje shot down the rematch idea by claiming that the Spanish-Georgian would need to beat another top contender before getting another shot at the title.

With that, Paddy Pimblett emerges as a possible alternative thanks to their rivalry, which dates back to 2022. For now, though, Ilia Topuria’s team seems more interested in getting him healthy and ready than locking in a date or opponent.

And until that changes, Dana White’s confidence about a comeback may be a little ahead of schedule.

Dana White and Malki Kawa disagree over Topuria’s next opponent

As talk of a Justin Gaethje rematch started picking up, Dana White made it clear he wasn’t ruling out Paddy Pimblett either. In fact, the UFC boss suggested that the long-awaited grudge match could even headline a numbered event, despite there being no title on the line.

That tells you everything about how much interest the UFC sees in Topuria vs. Pimblett. Ilia Topuria’s manager, Malki Kawa, didn’t exactly sound like someone ready to move on from Gaethje, though.

After the head honcho discussed the possibility of ‘El Matador’ vs. ‘The Baddy,’ Kawa shared a video of the UFC boss on his Instagram story and made his own preference pretty clear.

“We want the get back 1000%,” Kawa wrote.

However, Dana White is still keeping both options alive. In a clip posted by UFC on Paramount+, the UFC boss was asked whether Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett could headline a numbered event without a title on the line. His answer? A big fat yes.

“The answer is yes,” he said. “That fight is massive. It’s all that anybody has been asking me, what’s going to happen. Topuria wants to come back.

“Let me tell you this, it’s a good problem to have. Which one, Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett? So whichever direction this ends up going in, we all win.”

An Ilia Topuria-Paddy Pimblett fight would be a pretty big deal for another reason, too. The UFC hasn’t put a non-title fight on top of a numbered card without Conor McGregor involved since UFC 279 in 2022.

That event ended up being headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight, forcing the UFC to reshuffle the card. So if Dana White actually follows through with ‘El Matador’ vs. ‘The Baddy,’ it would be a notable move for the promotion.

The Justin Gaethje option, meanwhile, is still tied to the reigning champion’s future. ‘The Highlight’ has admitted that he hasn’t decided whether he wants to keep fighting after reaching the top of the lightweight division.

He’s leaving that call to his family and coaches, which makes his availability for a rematch with Ilia Topuria far from certain.

If Gaethje does walk away, ‘The Baddy’ could quickly become the more realistic option. But before either fight can actually get made, Jesus Gallo’s latest update suggests ‘El Matador’ still has plenty of work to do before he’s genuinely ready to return.