​Justin
Gaethje gives credit where it’s due.
Gaethje (28-5) recently heaped praise on former foe Ilia
Topuria (17-1). The
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder gave the
former two-division champ a lesson in humility with a brutal
beating at
UFC Freedom 250 at the White House this past June. He believes
“El Matador” will be extremely dangerous on his Octagon return.Gaethje still considers Topuria one of the UFC’s best after
handing him his first loss
Gaethje won the undisputed UFC lightweight title in a huge upset as
Topuria’s corner called for a stoppage at the end of the fourth
round. “The Highlight” believes Topuria will dominate his next
opponent as he looks to rebound from his first professional
loss.
While Gaethje and Topuria have exchanged trash talk, the former has
never doubted the latter’s skill set. Gaethje still considers
Topuria one of the best fighters in the world and wants to see him
thrive.
“Whoever fights [Topuria] next is gonna be f*cked,” Gaethje said on
the “Double Coverage” podcast. “If he forgets how dangerous this
sport is, how there is a little bit of luck and chance and makes
mistakes, he is not going to be at his best or locked in as he
should be. But outside of that, without those mental mistakes, he
is one of the best in the world. There’s no doubt about it.
Everything I say, I’m never talking sh*t about the guy because he
is so good. I want to see him come back. I want to see him thrive;
I want to see him prosper.”
There are rumblings of a rematch between Topuria and Gaethje being
in the works. However, Arman
Tsarukyan further solidified his status as the No.1 contender
and bolstered his case for a long-overdue title shot with a
first-round knockout win over Mauricio
Ruffy at UFC
331 on Sept. 19.