It’s no secret that Justin Gaethje, as a patriotic American, wants to unify the interim lightweight belt against Ilia Topuria at the UFC White House event. However, as grand as the interim champ’s dreams are right now, his chances of fighting at the event are currently under a big question mark after a Spanish insider reported fresh constraints around ‘El Matador’s comeback at the White House.

According to the rumors, Ilia Topuria defending the lightweight belt for the first time against Justin Gaethje was at the forefront of headlining the UFC White House. But now, Spanish MMA insider Alvaro Colmenero gave that possibility a cold shoulder. The reason? He believes politics and other sensitive factors might halt this fight from happening, and ‘El Matador’s return might shift to International Fight Week instead.

Justin Gaethje’s UFC White House dreams in limbo as Ilia Topuria’s return might delay

“Regarding Ilia Topuria’s fight against Gaethje at the White House: The fight has NOT been signed, and despite being a possibility, the chances of it taking place there have decreased,” Colmenero wrote on X. “There are several geopolitical and economic arguments against the fight being held at the WH.

“If they decide that the Topuria vs. Gaethje fight will not take place at the White House, it would make sense for it to headline UFC International Fight Week,” he added.

When it comes to political interference related to the UFC White House event, there’s definitely some confusion. Initially, Dana White revealed that the marquee event won’t be “America vs the world” as the entire fanbase expected it to be. Later, Merab Dvalishvili opened up a completely different scenario. As per ‘The Machine’, the promotion ruled out the trilogy with Petr Yan happening at the White House because they don’t want any Russians participating in the event.

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That said, if the White House politics actually become the reason for ‘El Matador’s delayed comeback in the UFC, it might risk Gaethje’s chance at unifying the belt at the White House. Why? As an interim champion, ‘The Highlight’ can definitely put his belt on the line at the marquee event against anyone. But would he actually risk the chance to become an undisputed champ? Likely not. In that sense, the Arizona slugger might actually lose his dream to fight at America’s greatest UFC event.

Now, coming to International Fight Week, it’s also reported to take place around mid-June, which is the same time the Washington, DC event is expected to happen and is currently not set for July. Still, if Topuria ends up missing the UFC’s flagship spectacle, he would face Justin Gaethje down the line, and the two-time interim contender is definitely getting some backing to score an upset.

Max Holloway backs ‘The Highlight’ to beat Topuria

Ahead of the lightweight title clash, the fans have been ruling out Justin Gaethje’s chances to beat Ilia Topuria. The odds are stacked against ‘The Highlight’ even though he just beat Paddy Pimblett in a brutal showdown at UFC 324. But looking at the Georgian-Spaniard tearing through three legends back to back, his being a massive favorite seems justified. But Max Holloway believes otherwise, as he backed the 37-year-old veteran, whose adaptability can challenge Topuria.

“You know, people seem to think that after Justin’s last fight, that means Ilia will win easily,” Holloway told Stake. “I think sometimes you have to do what Justin did against Paddy. You have to make it ugly and put people in a fight when they’re not used to that style. I think Justin made that fight look how he wanted it to look, and congrats to him,” he added.

When it comes to the prediction between Topuria and Gaethje, Max Holloway would be the perfect man, as he has shared the Octagon with both. ‘Blessed’ finished ‘The Highlight’ to grab the BMF belt at UFC 300. But ‘El Matador’ became the first man to knock him out at UFC 308. So he knows what power each possesses. However, since the Georgian-Spaniard has knocked out Holloway and Charles Oliveira consecutively, his chances of winning look strong against Gaethje whenever they square up.

That said, as the hype around the lightweight showdown still remains, do you also have Topuria winning the showdown, or are you expecting an upset like the BMF champ? Let us know in the comments section below.