“Both of their managers are a b–ch and also ugly as hell,” said recently UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, expressing his frustration at Islam Makhachev for ducking him for the upcoming White House event. Instead, the promotion scheduled ‘El Matador’ for a title unification fight against Justin Gaethje, effectively putting his dream of a “bigger fight” on hold. Then, shortly after Topuria’s social media post, Makhachev finally responded to the challenge.

Topuria’s manager, Malki Kawa, confirmed that both sides limited the super-fight between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria to “discussion,” as they never reached an official agreement. At the same time, Dana White also confirmed that Makhachev suffered a hand injury, which prevented the fight from appearing on the White House card on June 14. Now, following Topuria’s taunt, the Russian phenom has officially accepted the challenge.

Islam Makhachev lashes out at Ilia Topuria’s manager

“We both know who chickened out here…,” wrote Islam Makhachev on social media, “but don’t worry, one day you will get what you asked for! And your fat a-s manager don’t have to ask for billions to fight me, we’ll do it for free.”

Although Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev often show respect for each other, they change their stance whenever fight rumors heat up. Since 2024, the Georgian-Russian star has dreamed of facing the former 155er champ, back when Makhachev held the lightweight title and Topuria was the featherweight champion. Over time, the two have exchanged barbs and jabs online.

Then, in 2025, Topuria moved up to 155 pounds, bringing his potential fight with Makhachev closer to reality. Later that summer, Islam Makhachev moved up to the welterweight division, becoming the 11th fighter to capture titles in two divisions, while Ilia Topuria claimed the vacated lightweight title with a knockout over Charles Oliveira, also becoming a two-division champion. They joined the elite list of UFC fighters, including Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes, and many more, to have achieved the feat.

The duo could have faced each other at the upcoming UFC White House event. However, before announcing the card, Dana White canceled one fight, which led fans to assume it was the Topuria vs. Makhachev matchup. Recently, Topuria’s manager defended the narrative.

Ilia Topuria’s manager spills on Justin Gaethje fight

Ilia Topuria’s manager recently confirmed that Dana White and the matchmakers did not initially choose ‘El Matador’ for the UFC White House card. However, last week, Hunter Campbell reached out to see if Topuria wanted to be on the card, with Islam Makhachev and Justin Gaethje as potential opponents. The Georgian phenom chose the Russian phenom, but the promotion ultimately scheduled him to fight the interim lightweight champion.

At that time, neither side had finalized the initial negotiations, and the same applied to Gaethje, whom the promotion had also told he would not fight at the White House event. Then, a few days later, the promotion reversed its decision and asked the former BMF champion if he wanted to appear on the card, and he confirmed. Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria’s manager, Malki Kawa, dismissed the idea that they had ever finalized the fight against Makhachev before canceling it.

“I don’t know which fight fell apart,” Kawa said. “I can’t call it Islam. Islam is injured, right? So that fight wasn’t something that was a done deal, and then it fell apart, [and] Gaethje stepped in. It was one of those, like, ‘Hey, if we can make Islam fight, do you want to do that?

If not, you guys can do Gaethje, right?’ We had our choice, and we said yes to Islam, and we said yes to Gaethje. It was more about the numbers and the money.”

Now, regardless of what happened before, fans are shifting their attention to the Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje fight. What’s your take on this matchup? Do you think it can deliver the fireworks fans are hoping for? Share your opinion below.