Ali Abdelaziz just slammed the door on Justin Gaethje vs Ilia Topuria 2. Gaethje's manager told Submission Radio that Topuria — who has been publicly demanding an immediate rematch after losing the lightweight title — has no power to make it happen: "He's not fighting Justin Gaethje next. He doesn't call the shots. Only one guy in the past did that, and his name is Conor McGregor, and he's not Conor McGregor. Nobody is."
“"He doesn't call the shots. Only one guy in the past did that, and his name is Conor McGregor, and he's not Conor McGregor."”
It was a thorough dismantling of the rematch case. Topuria entered their UFC Freedom 250 meeting in June as a heavy favorite and was stopped over four rounds, unable to answer the bell for the fifth in what became his first professional defeat. Abdelaziz insisted the rematch talk ends there: "I believe Justin Gaethje will beat him nine out of 10 times. You know why? Justin has his number. I don't think he can beat Justin Gaethje." And then the kill shot: "At the end of the day, this fight will never happen. I can tell you this: Justin Gaethje has zero gain to beat Ilia Topuria again."
The context behind the rematch chatter is the ugly glove-gate saga. After being medically cleared to return, Topuria suggested there had been something "weird" in Gaethje's gloves during their fight and vowed to have them checked next time. Abdelaziz torched the timing, noting the accusation arrived three months after the loss — right in the middle of the UFC 331 fight week built around Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy. "If this is what he wants to say that he had rocks in his gloves, that's a compliment to Justin Gaethje, how hard he punches," he said. "The Las Vegas Commission was there, the D.C. Commission was there, Andy Foster from California was there. He had three commissions watching him about the gloves. But he said that during Arman's fight week to take away from Arman and Ruffy's hype."
On Tsarukyan himself, the tone flipped completely. The same interview that buried the Topuria rematch carried Abdelaziz's praise for Arman's UFC 331 knockout — calling him a future world champion, a verdict that puts him in line with Israel Adesanya, who also believes Tsarukyan deserves the next shot at Gaethje's title. Not everyone agrees with the no-rematch stance: Merab Dvalishvili has argued Gaethje should give Topuria a second chance. But Abdelaziz went cryptic when asked what Gaethje actually does next: "My idea will piss a lot of people off, but I prefer not to say."
So the rematch is dead — at least according to the man who manages the champion — and Gaethje's next move is a mystery. Tsarukyan, fresh off the scariest knockout of the summer, looks like the man standing closest to the front of the line.
