The UFC’s White House event is not just another fight card; it’s a historic moment for the sport. That’s why the usual matchmaking rules might suddenly bend. Justin Gaethje just beat Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 to become a two-time interim lightweight champion, and under normal circumstances, that points straight to a unification bout with Ilia Topuria. But Islam Makhachev’s shadow looms heavy over the matchup. Because in moments like this, the promotion might lean towards spectacle.

According to Michael Bisping, in a video on his YouTube channel, “You can’t put an event on at the White House and not have the fight card just blow everything else to smithereens, right? This thing has to deliver and it absolutely will and they’re going to put together the most incredible night of fights that us fight fans, UFC fans could ever imagine, right?”

Which is why, according to him, “And there’s no bigger fight right now in my humble opinion than Islam Makachev versus Ilia Topuria.”

That’s a big statement, and Bisping knows who it sidelines. He even acknowledged the obvious roadblock: “I know Justin is the interim and Ilia is the undisputed and that should happen. It really should.” But then he pivoted to the moment itself. The White House lawn. A global audience. President Trump and the “whole world” are tuning in to watch. In ‘The Count’s view, that scale demands the biggest possible matchup. And for him, that means Islam Makhachev.

The numbers back up why this fight carries weight. Makhachev sits at 28–1 and now holds titles in two divisions. He dominated lightweight before moving up to 170 lbs, and on paper, he’s defended UFC gold four times. Bisping even framed the legacy debate in blunt terms. Conor McGregor was the bigger star. Khabib Nurmagomedov may be the cultural icon and the GOAT to many. “But on paper… Islam Makhachev has defended the belt four times.”

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The Dagestani champion isn’t shy about it either. In a recent interview, he already said, “Yeah, I like this idea if UFC want. I know lot of MMA fans want this fight. I’m ready.” There’s also a practical window here. Ramadan takes him out of training for a month, but after that, he’s lining his calendar up, ”I will slowly begin my training camp, and I will be ready. White House or other dates, I will be ready.”

So where does that leave Gaethje? On merit, he has the strongest case. Interim champions don’t usually get skipped over. But as fight fans have come to know, the UFC has never pretended moments don’t matter. If the goal is to make June 14 feel like an event you can’t miss, Makhachev vs. Topuria does that in a way few fights can. Yet, if the promotion decides to pivot to ‘The Highlight’ vs ‘El Matador’, there’s already a warning being laid out by Topuria’s coach!

Ilia Topuria’s coach warns Justin Gaethje about his “habits”

If the UFC sticks to the cleanest line on the board, Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje is the White House main event. Topuria’s off-cage issues are settled, and he’s back to training as per recent updates.  On timing, it fits the June window perfectly. But here’s the catch: Topuria’s own corner isn’t acting like this is a long night.

His coach, Javi Clement, didn’t hedge when asked about Gaethje in a conversation with Alvaro Colmenero. He said, “I’m not going to say 30 seconds, a minute, or two minutes, but 100% it would be in the first round and 100% in the first exchange.”

In his view, once Ilia Topuria lands clean, you’re not marching forward like nothing happened. If Gaethje tries to bite down on his mouthpiece and walk through it the way Charles Oliveira did, Clement thinks it ends the same way, on the mat. He also claims he’s already broken down Gaethje’s habits on tape and believes, “those habits will cost him big if he does them on fight day.”

It’s a brutal assessment, but the numbers give it some weight. Gaethje has twice come up short in undisputed title shots, and his style has always lived on the edge with huge power, huge exchanges, and big risk. Still, this is the tension the UFC keeps running into when it stages a once-in-a-generation event. Do you reward the clean sporting path and give Gaethje the unification he earned? Or do you swing for the loudest possible moment and book Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria because it feels bigger on the night?