Justin Gaethje’s odds for Ilia Topuria fight are disrespectful, says Kamaru Usman
UFC legend Kamaru Usman has spoken about Justin Gaethje‘s long underdog tag against Ilia Topuria.
At UFC Freedom 250, Justin Gaethje will go head to head with Ilia Topuria in the main event on the White House lawn. The two will unify the lightweight championship with Gaethje currently holding the interim belt, whereas Topuria is riding high after knocking out the likes of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira to become a two-weight UFC champion.
As you can imagine, the momentum is largely with Ilia Topuria here, but Justin Gaethje isn’t going to go down without a fight. Even after some of the issues he’s had with the promotion, he has still been able to go in there and put on some world class performances to prove that he deserves to be here.
In a recent episode of his podcast alongside Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman weighed in on the odds being given to Justin Gaethje in this bout.
Kamaru Usman on Justin Gaethje’s odds vs Ilia Topuria
“It’s crazy, these odds,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “They still have Justin at like a what, 4-1 underdog? What was Justin in his last fight? He was also a 3-1 underdog the last fight? Something crazy like that. Justin Gaethje was the underdog. It is what it is.
“Whoever the oddsmakers are, or whatever, I just feel the disrespect is there. Even myself. I was the underdog in my fight (vs. Buckley). The disrespect is there, but it is what it is. That’s what we love to do as professional athletes. We like to go in there, and we like to really silence the critics. So, I love it.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
There’s no denying that Ilia has earned the right to be called the favorite in this fight given what he has achieved across his last few fights. With that being said, overlooking ‘The Highlight’ is a mistake that many have made in the past, and if ‘El Matador’ does so for even a second, he could live to regret it.
Either way, this is exactly the kind of fight that will get fans buzzing at the White House this summer.
