Topuria Claims Makhachev Had An ‘Excuse’ To Avoid White House Fight

Despite Dana White shutting down rumors that a fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev was in negotiations for the White House due to Islam dealing with a hand injury, Topuria is calling the injury an excuse for ducking him.

The lightweight champion suggested that the “hand injury” was a convenient excuse for Makhachev to avoid a clash on the South Lawn. Topuria revealed he knew he was going to appear on the card and accepted a fight with Islam, only to find out he suffered a hand injury. Makhachev was quick to fire back, dismissing the claims. Makhachev responded to Topuria, stating, “One day you will get what you asked for,” even going as far as suggesting he’d take the fight for free just to settle the score. While White maintains that the scheduling conflict was purely medical, the narrative has shifted.

“We both know who chickened out here 😉 you can cover your cowardice with nasty tweets, but don’t worry, one day you will get what you asked for! and your manager don’t have to ask for billions to fight me, we’ll do it for free,” Makhachev said

At UFC 326 on Saturday, it was revealed that Ilia Topuria would put his belt on the line against interim titleholder Justin Gaethje in the main event on the South Lawn for what is now being referred to as ‘UFC Freedom 250’. Topuria will have been out of the octagon for almost a full year by the time his fight with Gaethje at the White House rolls around on June 14th, as he stepped away for a period to handle some family business.

In his most recent outing, he defeated Charles Oliveira in the first round of their main event contest for the interim lightweight belt at UFC 317 last June, and became a two-division UFC champion. Meanwhile, Makhachev is fresh off capturing a belt in a second weight category himself, as he defeated Jack Della Maddalena to earn the welterweight title last November.