Ilia Topuria’s Coach Makes “First-Exchange” KO Prediction Against Justin Gaethje
Ilia Topuria’s coach, Javi Clement, is busy playing Mystic Mac. Most recently, Topuria, who had taken a break from fighting due to personal reasons, announced that he’s ready to return. Having sorted his problems outside the octagon, Topuria is now back in the gym.
In his absence, Justin Gaethje grabbed the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 by dismantling Paddy Pimblett.
Later this year, “El Matador” and Gaethje will face off to unify the titles. As per rumors, this bout could headline the UFC White House Card. Both fighters have shown interest in the June 14 event, and the promotion is currently building the lineup.
Recently, Ilia Topuria’s coach gave a bold prediction about the potential Topuria vs. Gaethje bout. Clement believes his pupil will put “The Highlight” to sleep in the first exchange during the first round. He told Álvaro Colmenero:
“I’m not going to say 30 seconds, a minute, or two minutes, but 100% it would be in the first round and 100% in the first exchange. I am 100% sure that no matter how strong Justin Gaethje is, no matter how much he wants to win, when Ilia connects with you, you’re not going to walk forward… Justin has several bad habits that I’ve already analyzed very well, and those habits will cost him big if he does them on fight day.”
Check out the interview below:
Ilia Topuria’s pre-fight forecasts have been spot on so far
Ilia Topuria sent Charles Oliveira to the shadow realm at UFC 317, and before that, he became the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway.
In 2024, to capture the UFC featherweight championship, he also put Alexander Volkanovski to sleep.
The 29-year-old has already warned his future opponent, Justin Gaethje, right after the latter won the interim title at UFC 324. Topuria posted on X:
“Justin, all I can say is congratulations… and I’d like to tell you to get ready, but you’re screwed no matter what.”
Ilia Topuria prepared to put Islam Makhachev to “very, very long sleep”
Ilia Topuria is famous for taking unprovoked digs at pound-for-pound king and UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Most recently, while calling out the Russian fighter again, Topuria stated that he’s not like any other opponent Makhachev has ever shared the octagon with. The 29-year-old is confident that if he puts his right hand on Makhachev, the latter will have a very long sleep. He told Eldoberdan MMA:
“Everyone knows it’s a fight everyone wants to see, and for some reason, he hasn’t accepted it, and then he talks too much. It’s very easy to talk from thousands of kilometers away and criticise me, but then when you have me in that octagon, you start to realize that I’m not Jack Della Maddalena, that I’m not Dan Hooker, that I’m not all those guys that you have faced. I’m something very different, and when I put my right hand on you, you’ll see that you’re going to have a very, very long sleep.”
Check out Ilia Topuria’s comments below:
