Andy Foster, one of three regulators for the UFC Freedom 250 event that took place in June, spoke about Justin Gaethje’s gloves.
Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria via fourth-round TKO in a brutal beatdown to claim the UFC lightweight title.
But Foster says that simply isn’t the case.
Andy Foster Dismisses Ilia Topuria’s Concerns About Justin Gaethje’s Gloves
Speaking to USA Today Sports, Foster dismissed Topuria’s concerns about Gaethje’s gloves, saying that they were signed off on and were fully legal.
“His gloves and wraps were fine and totally within regulations. Also well inspected by multiple inspectors,” Foster said.
While loaded gloves are a serious concern in boxing, they are less of a concern in MMA since the gloves are so much smaller and open, per Foster.
“Harder to pull that off,” Foster said about loading gloves in MMA.
Will the UFC Book a Rematch?
Now, the question is: will the UFC book a rematch between Topuria and Gaethje?
Clearly, these two fighters do not like each other, and Topuria’s claims that Gaethje cheated during the fight are clearly designed to get under his skin so he can secure this huge rematch for the belt.
On paper, Topuria doesn’t deserve an immediate title shot rematch, as he did not defend his belt once. When there are other contenders waiting for a title shot, such as Arman Tsarukyan, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to give someone like Topuria the title shot when there are other, far more deserving fighters who should get the shot first instead of him.
But if the UFC feels like this is the fight to make, then perhaps they will let Topuria jump the line and give him the title shot, even though there are other fighters who should be getting a crack at Gaethje’s belt first.
We’ll have to wait and see what the UFC does, but don’t be surprised if Topuria is able to secure the title shot that he craves.
UFC Freedom 250 Regulator Speaks on Justin Gaethje’s Gloves