Ilia Topuria stirred up major controversy after accusing Justin Gaethje of cheating at UFC White House. Taking to social media, the former champion alleged that ‘The Highlight’ had something “weird” in his gloves, which he claimed led to his fourth-round TKO loss. Since then, Topuria’s claim has come under scrutiny, and now, an official for the bout has broken their silence.   

In an interview with USA Today, the California State Athletic Commission’s Executive Director Andy Foster dismissed Topuria’s allegations. 

“His gloves and wraps were fine and totally within regulations,’’ Foster said. “Also well inspected by multiple inspectors.”  

Despite Foster revealing that inspectors did their job on June 14, the regulations surrounding the UFC White House event remained particularly intriguing.

Normally, a UFC event in the United States is regulated by an athletic commission, depending on which state hosts the event. But for Freedom 250, the promotion self-regulated the event because the fights took place on federal property. Still, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) was brought in to sanction the event and oversee its regulations. 

Besides being a CSAC executive, Foster also serves as chair of the ABC’s medical committee. However, the reports did not name the other two regulators who officiated the event. But Foster mainly worked alongside promotion officials Marc Ratner (the UFC’s senior VP of regulatory affairs) and Hunter Campbell (CBO) to oversee the June 14 card. So, his words definitely hold value.  

Plus, the UFC also normally puts gloves through several checks before issuing them to athletes, and those checks require an official’s physical signature as confirmation. Even so, Foster clarified that MMA gloves aren’t as easy to tamper with as boxing gloves, further pushing back on Topuria’s claim. 

“Harder to pull that off,” Foster added in the same interview. 

As of now, no MMA athlete has been officially found guilty of tampering with gloves. In boxing, however, American fighter Antonio Margarito was caught cheating with his gear. 

Before his 2009 world title fight against Shane Mosley, inspectors found a gypsum-based substance in his hand wraps. Though wraps are considered separate equipment from gloves, they are worn underneath them. As a result, Margarito was suspended from competing as a result.

Confident of not committing any wrongdoing, Gaethje shrugged off the allegations and accused Topuria of making “lame excuses” for his loss. Still, the pushback against the Spanish-Georgian fighter is growing stronger, with one of MMA’s pioneering referees now weighing in on the controversy.  

‘Big’ John McCarthy pushes back on Ilia Topuria’s cheating claims  

When it comes to regulatory issues, John McCarthy is another credible voice. The veteran referee is a pioneer of the sport, having spent 25 years officiating fights, and he also contributed to the creation of the Unified Rules of MMA. According to McCarthy, Topuria’s accusations have no validity.

“Trevor Whitman wrapped Justin’s hands with a knowledgeable State inspector watching the entire process,” McCarthy wrote on X. “He signs off on that wrap and that it was inspected by him. There is no validity to the allegation in anyway.”  

In that case, McCarthy largely echoed the sentiment that Andy Foster and others have conveyed so far regarding the controversy. Interestingly, the pioneering referee also serves as chair of the ABC’s rules and regulations committee. So far, It’s unclear whether he attended the UFC White House card. But most likely he did not. Still, McCarthy’s place on the committee adds another perspective to the controversy. 

Yet, not every reaction has been the same. UFC president and CEO Dana White also responded to Topuria’s accusation that Gaethje cheated, doing so during a Kick stream with Nina Drama at a Power Slap event. As usual, the 57-year-old dismissed the rumors, equating them to social media noise.

“No. I’m gonna say, ‘I missed all the good stuff, huh?’ I don’t go on social media as much as people think I do,” White said. “I try to stay away from the fight stuff because most of it’s bulls–t. Social media is full of s–t. It’s a crazy place.” 

That said, it remains to be seen whether Ilia Topuria ultimately backtracks from his comments after facing so much scrutiny from pretty important people. But considering his verbose nature, ‘El Matador’ could remain stubborn on his accusations.