Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria have different stories about why their fight didn’t happen in June.
Topuria believes it was an injury to Makhachev that kept the fight from happening. He says he went to bed expecting the matchup to be finalised, only to wake up and hear he’d be facing Justin Gaethje instead.
“I fell asleep one night knowing I would fight Islam, then I woke up with 30 missed calls telling me I’d be fighting Gaethje,” Topuria recalled.
Makhachev has a different explanation, saying it was Topuria’s financial demands that caused the breakdown. Dana White has since weighed in on the situation.
White dismisses Makhachev’s claim that Topuria’s pay demands blocked fight
Earlier in the day, Topuria’s manager pointed again to Makhachev’s injury as the reason the super fight between the two champions didn’t end up on the White House lawn.
Makhachev has recently shared training footage, but Dana White said during a recent interview that he wouldn’t be fighting in June and wouldn’t return until August due to a hand injury.
The UFC boss was specifically asked on Adin Ross’ Kick stream if it was Topuria’s financial demands that had stopped this fight from happening on June 14.
“That’s not true,” White responded, directly refuting Makhachev’s latest claim.
Kawa explained they chose Makhachev over Justin Gaethje, but when talks broke down over money, they ended up finalising a deal with Gaethje instead.
Topuria will next defend his belt against Max Holloway at UFC 304. If both he and Makhachev come through their upcoming fights unscathed, there might still be a chance for them to face each other later in the year.
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