Ilia Topuria’s sparring footage stories are making the Justin Gaethje fight look ugly already. The UFC lightweight title will be unified when Topuria takes on Gaethje in the main event of the historic UFC White House card. The event, which tallies with President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, hosts some of the biggest names in the game.
With only weeks to the title fight, Topuria is ramping up preparation, and he’s apparently leaving quite a mark during his training camp. This footage has sparked widespread attention across the MMA world, with sparring partners and fans increasingly anticipating an ugly fight.
What Ilia Topuria’s sparring partners think about his UFC White House fight
Some of Topuria’s sparring partners recently spoke about the pressure from his fist during training. The video, which Topuria shared via his social media handles, has a partner predicting the outcome of Topuria’s UFC clash against Gaethje.
However, this isn’t the first time his sparring partners have publicly spoken about his tough preparation. Last month, his partner publicly asked Topuria to slow down during a training session. New footage similarly has a couple of his sparring partners describing his toughness again.
“We had the opportunity to feel the power of his fist. My liver is fucked up after the session. All the time I felt the pressure from Ilia, I think he finishes [Gaethje] in the first round.”
Topuria, who is 17-0 as a professional, will enter Washington ahead of an all-time great trio of wins. He won the featherweight title by defeating Alexander Volkanovski in early 2024. Shortly afterward, he defeated former champion Max Holloway before knocking out former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira last year to win the belt at 155Ib.
Meanwhile, Gaethje is a two-time interim lightweight champion and a former BMF title holder. Gaethje has twice failed to win the undisputed belt at 155 lb and lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov in a 2020 title-unification bout. However, Gaethje (27-5) won the interim title again this January, dominating Liverpool’s Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett to set up his clash with Topuria.