How ‘The Highlight’ Can Conquer ‘El Matador’
With his recent victory against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324, Justin Gaethje sits atop the Lightweight Division as the interim champion. The only man standing in his way of becoming the undisputed champion is the highly dangerous Ilia Topuria. The Georgian fighter comes off a recent legal settlement with his ex-wife, Giorgina Uzcategui, which resulted in their court case being dismissed. Now he looks to go back to dominating the Lightweight Division, supposedly aiming to fight Gaethje for the title this summer at the White House. As Gaethje sees himself closer and closer to retirement, he hopes to conquer the man who’s been tearing through multiple divisions the past few years.
This ultimately begs the question: Does ‘The Highlight’ stand a chance against ‘El Matador’? Topuria’s rise to stardom has been an impressive feat so far. After sitting as the undisputed featherweight champion for a period of time, Topuria would eventually move up to lightweight in hopes of making weight much easier. Not only does it ease the weight cuts, but the jump to lightweight also provides ‘El Matador’ the chance to prove he’s one of the UFC greats. He is currently undefeated with a 17-0 record, and his last three wins have been by KO, dropping Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira, with each of those fighters being legends of the sport. Gaethje has a tall task ahead of him, but in the UFC, anything can happen.
Regarded by many Gaethje’s best asset is his power. He and Topuria have similar styles, meaning that fans will most likely see a straight-up boxing match between the two fighters. There haven’t been too many times where Topuria has been hit very hard by an opponent, so if Gaethje can become aggressive early and capitalize on Topuria’s inexperienced chin, he may surprise a lot of people. Gaethje’s last battle saw him struggling with cardio late, which would mean that he most likely will not go all five rounds with Topuria. Both fighters are known to have some of the most jaw-dropping moments in UFC history, so either one of them could reign supreme. Until then, the fans will be eagerly awaiting this matchup to come.
