UFC great Israel Adesanya sent a warning to Ilia Topuria about a potential rematch against UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.
There have been rumblings that the UFC may give Topuria an immediate title rematch against Gaethje despite the fact that he lost via fourth-round TKO due to corner stoppage in their UFC Freedom 250 main event in June.
But Adesanya believes that an immediate rematch might be a bad idea for Topuria and is warning him to reconsider asking for the rematch right away.
Israel Adesanya Sends Warning to Ilia Topuria
Speaking on the “Precision” podcast, Adesanya warned Topuria not to fight Gaethje again so soon.
“Ilia said he’s just cleared to fight recently, so he could probably fight. I think he should fight around the same time or right before. I think this year, December’s good. Ilia’s still a big name. I’m not going by what the internet says, I was trying to think, is it good for him to just wait and get an immediate (title shot)?” Adesanya said (via MMAFighting.com).
“After a beating like that—because again, I’ve been on the receiving end of one of them—you have to realize, OK, how can I come back from this? Because I know how it is as a fighter when you take an L and you feel like, ‘Man.’ Best way I can say is (Alex) Pereira, I went back straight away because I already had an immediate rematch cause or whatever. I don’t know if Ilia has that, but I’d advise him not to take it with Justin, because I think getting another win before cracking the title shot again would be best for him.”
Israel Adesanya Says Arman Tsarukyan Should Be Next
Instead of Topuria getting the next title shot against Gaethje, Adesanya believes that No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan has done everything necessary to get the next lightweight title shot.
“I think Arman’s next. He and Justin Gaethje has to be the next fight, who else? September, October, that could happen this year. (If) they’re already booked out, January, they could do that in January,” Adesanya said.
Israel Adesanya Sends Warning to Ilia Topuria About Justin Gaethje