Sleeping – that’s what Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev were doing when the White House matchmaking was happening around them. The two champions were in focus after the June 14 card was announced, because they were NOT fighting on it. Several narratives were floating around as to why the fight did not materialize. From Dana White’s explanation to the fighters’ managers’ comments, it was all a ‘he said, who said?’ argument. But Makhachev has had enough of fingers being pointed at him.

A superfight between the lightweight and the welterweight champions was one of the most talked-about possibilities heading into the UFC’s historic White House event. If you ask ‘El Matador,’ who is now set to headline the card against Justin Gaethje, he went to bed expecting he would face Islam Makhachev. However, in an interview with MARCA, he revealed how he was taken off guard the next morning when multiple calls informed him that the opponent had changed.

“[I went to sleep] knowing and thinking I was going to fight Islam,” Ilia Topuria said in his native Spanish. “I woke up well; they woke me up with a lot of phone calls saying it was going to be against Justin.”

Makhachev’s manager had a similar account: “I got called about Ilia fighting Islam. It was the middle of the day, Islam was sleeping, and I was excited about it. After that, I got called back, ‘Never mind, the fight’s not gonna happen.’ Even before I talked to Islam.”

When asked why the Dagestani champion did not take the fight, ‘El Matador’ did not mince words.

“I don’t know. Weird people, strange people. I don’t know,” he replied.

However, it seems like this version of events didn’t sit well with Islam Makhachev. The Dagestani, who stepped up on November 15 and won the welterweight title, openly refuted the claims and expressed frustration with the narrative being pushed.

According to him, the situation was far simpler, and the responsibility didn’t lie with him.

“I’m tired of hearing made-up stories from Topuria and his team,” he wrote on X. “I got the call and accepted the fight at the White House. “The next day, I was told he asked for an unrealistic purse. The UFC declined, and he pulled out.”

The Russian didn’t stop there. He went on to criticize Ilia Topuria’s inconsistent storytelling, urging him to stop changing versions of events in interviews.

“That’s it, nothing more to it,” he continued. “Even his manager confirmed it. Ilia, stop talking. Every interview you give tells a different story. You pulled out, and you know it.” He even responded to a joking fan that it was he himself writing on X, and not his manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

Well, there have been quite a few inconsistencies in the lightweight champion’s narrative also.

While Ilia Topuria claimed this time that he was unaware of the reason behind Islam Makhachev’s not accepting the fight, in a recent tweet, the 29-year-old claimed that the Dagestani pulled out due to an injury.

“Once again, Islam comes up with an excuse,” Ilia Topuria wrote on X. “This time, it’s an injury. 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.” CEO Dana White cited the same injury reason as to why this fight did not materialize.

But whatever the real reason may be, the superfight is currently on hold. Islam Makhachev is set to defend his welterweight title later this year, while Ilia Topuria turns his attention to Justin Gaethje on June 14. However, with both fighters still publicly trading shots, it’s evident that this rivalry is far from over, and if the opportunity comes again, the stakes will be even higher.

But will the opportunity really come again? Because while ‘El Matador’ and the welterweight champion are feuding over who actually backed out of a fight, Dana White claims there were no plans for a bout at the White House in the very first place.

Dana White denies that Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria was ever in the works

The ongoing back-and-forth between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev may suggest a fight that slipped through the cracks, but according to Dana White, it never got that far. Addressing the issue head-on last month, the head honcho of the promotion denied that the superfight was ever part of the White House’s plans.

“That’s not true,” the UFC CEO said during the Zuffa Boxing 4 post-fight press conference. “That is true [Justin Gaethje wasn’t originally on the card]. It was never Islam versus Topuria. Don’t worry about what fights are being made. We announced which ones are made and which ones will be happening. I told you there were some weird circumstances.”

Instead, Dana White described a whole different kind of chaos behind the scenes. A separate fight reportedly fell apart at the last minute during a Power Slap event, forcing the promotion into an overnight scramble.

“It was at Power Slap that the fight fell apart that night, and all the boys went back to the office,” he said. “(They) were there until literally 9 in the morning, and that’s how Gaethje ended up on the card. Topuria wasn’t originally supposed to be on the card either. So he got the call, too.”

Some suspected that the Ilia-Islam bout fell through, while others stood firm that it was Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira. What’s common here is that both Ilia and Jones reportedly asked for more than what the UFC was willing to pay for their initially slated opponents. If you look at it that way, the TKO tightening their purses might have cost us some big fights.

But White’s version changes the entire perspective. Rather than a superfight collapsing due to negotiations or disagreements, the case becomes one of timing and circumstance. For the time being, the only confirmed reality is what fans will get to see on June 14.

However, with different accounts still out there, the Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev question isn’t fully settled. It’s simply been postponed to another time.