Despite the beating Ilia Topuria took from Justin Gaethje in June, Dana White says the former two-division champion is ready to return to action.
Topuria suffered his first career loss to Gaethje in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 from the South Lawn of the White House last June. In the process, he dropped the lightweight title, which he earned through a strong knockout of Charles Oliveira in 2025. This, of course, came after deciding to relinquish his 145-pound belt and move up following his title defense victory over Max Holloway.
Despite the severe damage inflicted by the high-volume punching in the Gaethje match, most felt that Topuria would remain on the sidelines for quite some time to recover fully from the injuries. But, in a fortunate surprise, according to White, Topuria is fight-ready.
During an interview on Wednesday, White confirmed Topuria is ready to return, and even mentioned some interesting options for him. While nothing had been decided for certain, the UFC CEO mentioned a rematch with Gaethje is on the table, or even a showdown with top-five 155-pound contender Paddy Pimblett, who has vocalized his opinion of ‘El Matador’ on multiple occasions in the past in an effort to generate a rivalry.
“Topuria is ready to fight, we’re ready for him. Both sound good to me. The rematch with Gaethje is incredible. A Paddy Pimblett fight is amazing.”
🚨 Dana White says Ilia Topuria is “ready to fight”
He says both the Justin Gaethje rematch and Paddy Pimblett fight interest him 👀
“Topuria is ready to fight, we’re ready for him. Both [the Gaethje fight or Paddy fight] sound good to me. The rematch with Gaethje is… pic.twitter.com/JkmZiA9lxS
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 9, 2026