UFC Champ Ilia Topuria Gets Grim Warning From Ryan Garcia After Boxing Fight Claims

Ilia Topuria’s recent comments about a potential crossover fight in boxing did not sit well with Ryan Garcia.

Arguably the biggest star on the UFC roster at the moment, Topuria claimed a second UFC title in his last outing when he moved up to the lightweight division and knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round at UFC 317.

“El Matador” is now scheduled to headline “UFC Freedom 250” at The White House, where he’ll meet Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification bout after Gaethje claimed interim gold for the second time by defeating Paddy Pimblett in January.

Ryan Garcia Warns Ilia Topuria to "Stay in Your Lane"

Making the media rounds more frequently as June 14 draws closer, Topuria recently made headlines by claiming that he’d “break” Garcia if the two men were to meet in a boxing match.

Ilia Topuria (red gloves) fights Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Unsurprisingly, Garcia wasn’t about to let Topuria’s comments slide and was quick to warn the UFC star that he’d be better off sticking with MMA.

You are a damn good striker for MMA that’s it. You wouldn’t be sipping on tea after our fight you would be eating thru a straw after our fight. Stay in your lane. I’ll gladly stay in mine. pic.twitter.com/9L7Qat1S33
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) May 21, 2026

“You are a damn good striker for MMA that’s it. You wouldn’t be sipping on tea after our fight you would be eating thru a straw after our fight. Stay in your lane. I’ll gladly stay in mine.”

Ryan Garcia (black/gold trunks) reacts after defeating Tyrone Luckey (not pictured) in their lightweight bout at T-Mobile Arena. Garcia won via second round TKO. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Boasting a 25-2 record in professional boxing, Garcia last competed in February and took a unanimous decision over Mario Barrios to win the WBC welterweight title. This isn’t the first time that a UFC champion has suggested they’d like to meet the 27-year-old in the boxing ring, as Sean O’Malley regularly discussed the idea of facing Garcia during his reign with the UFC bantamweight belt.

"El Matador" Headlines UFC White House Card on June 14

While the back-and-forth between Garcia and Topuria will certainly create some buzz online, “El Matador” is now less than a month away from headlining a UFC card that most fans expect will be one of the biggest combat sports events of the year.

Ilia Topuria (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Along with the headlining lightweight title unification bout between Topuria and Gaethje, “UFC Freedom 250” will also see Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane square off for the interim heavyweight belt in the night’s co-main event. Pereira is looking to make history as the first fighter to win UFC titles in three different weight classes, while Gane hopes to win interim gold for the second time in order to set up a rematch with Tom Aspinall.

Alex Pereira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The card also features the aforementioned O’Malley squaring off with Aiemann Zahabi and Mauricio Ruffy taking on former Bellator titleholder Michael Chandler after Chandler finally gave up on waiting for a matchup with Conor McGregor.

Michael Chandler (red gloves) fights against Paddy Pimblett (blue gloves) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Bo Nickal faces Kyle Daukaus after two-time featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes kicks off the night against Steve Garcia, and the card also added a seventh fight between the UFC’s all-time knockout leader Derrick Lewis and Josh Hokit immediately following Hokit’s latest win at UFC 327.

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