Justin Gaethje defeated Paddy Pimblett to win the UFC’s interim lightweight title last month, and now he believes he’s destined to fight current champion Ilia Topuria in the main event of the prestigious UFC: White House event on June 14th.
“Ilia Topuria on the White House [card]. It has to be. No other option,” Gaethje said on The Pat McAfee show when asked about his next fight. “Walking out of the Oval Office, into the cage, wearing the flag. I’ve been speaking [it] into existence since I fought [Rafael] Fiziev last year. I thought it would be Topuria in January, and then I would fight and defend my belt on the White House card in June.
“Things change up, can’t control everything. Ilia takes a step back, has some personal issues. I still get to fight for an interim championship, which makes me a champion on paper, which gives me Ilia Topuria on the White House in June.”
Gaethje’s prediction comes in timely fashion given that Topuria has just declared that, “the champ is back!!!” alongside training photos and videos after taking some time out to deal with personal issues after breaking up with his wife.
While there’s nothing more than that to Topuria’s message, Marca reports that he’s now come to an agreement with his wife regarding a recent lawsuit against him, and that the case has now been dismissed.
Topuria is reportedly back to training at his home gym in Madrid and now has his eyes on fighting on the White House card.
As one of the sport’s biggest stars in 2026, Topuria certainly fits the bill as a potential headliner for that one-off show on the grounds of the White House, and Gaethje is confident that the title unification bout against him is now in pole position to secure that spot.
“I think we’re going to main event it,” Gaethje said. “I think we’ll be the main event. I’m totally guessing, throwing sh*t against the wall right now, but what else?
“They had me specifically above Amanda [Nunes] and Kayla [Harrison], and that’s the biggest fight in women’s MMA, and they had me above them. I can’t imagine [not headlining it].”
That being said, Gaethje acknowledges that he’d also be open to fighting Conor McGregor at the event instead
“If it’s McGregor, then McGregor’s going to fight me, and we’ll be main event anyways,” Gaethje said. “If Ilia didn’t come back, they’d strip him, I’d become the undisputed [champion], and then McGregor gets to fight whoever he wants. I guess that would be an option.”
