Ilia Topuria's Wish for Justin Gaethje UFC Rematch Gets Unceremonious Shutdown

The former UFC two-division champ was denied a golden opportunity to rewrite a past wrong.

Jun 14, 2026; Washington, D.C., USA; Ilia Topuria (red gloves) fights Justin Gaethje (blue gloves) during the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House South Lawn. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former UFC two-division champion Ilia Topuria is continuing to call for a rematch with UFC Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje, but to no avail.

Topuria recently took to social media to ask his followers who they'd rather see him fight when he returns to the Octagon: Gaethje, or Paddy Pimblett. Overwhelmingly, the choice for a rematch was obvious, as over 400,000 people have a keen interest in Gaethje-Topuria 2.

Gaethje's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, got wind of Topuria's viral Instagram story and immediately shut down the possibility, claiming that Topuria doesn't deserve a second crack and that chances of the rematch happening are practically zero.

Is Gaethje-Topuria 2 All But Dead?

Jun 14, 2026; Washington, D.C., USA; Justin Gaethje (blue gloves) celebrates after winning the UFC Freedom 250 fight against Ilia Topuria (not pictured) at the White House South Lawn. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The rematch will never happen, and I agree with him – his brother saved his life," Abdelaziz wrote. "It's very hard to come back from the trauma of a [title] fight like that. I've seen Justin do this to many people, and coming back wasn't easy for them. Wishing him the best of luck."

If Topuria doesn't fight Gaethje after all, rumblings have surfaced that a five-round non-title fight between him and Pimblett could be a potential title eliminator next year, despite the UFC having yet to confirm, nor deny Topuria's desires.

UFC CEO Dana White previously addressed Topuria's future early this fall, reiterating that the lightweight division is an elite position no matter what the promotion decides to do next.

Topuria's loss to Gaethje in June crowned Gaethje as undisputed lightweight champion after he defeated Pimblett at UFC 324 in January to win interim gold in the night's main event. Meanwhile, Topuria had moved up from featherweight to lightweight to earn a second title, which he did in devastating fashion by knocking out former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, at UFC 317 in their vacant title fight.

UFC Has Huge Decision to Make at Lightweight

(Zuffa LLC)

The UFC still hasn't confirmed several dates or locations for early 2027, as the fight between Topuria and Gaethje headlined the blockbuster June UFC event, dubbed UFC Freedom 250, from Washington, D.C., which saw Gaethje dethrone Topuria and begin a new era at lightweight.

Gaethje is still in limbo about whether to retire from MMA. Should he choose to do so, the lightweight title becomes vacant again, potentially opening the door for Topuria to regain it or see the UFC put together an entirely different fight.

For now, questions linger about what comes next. But for now, it appears the Gaethje side has moved forward, as the division remains in a holding pattern.