The feud between Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria just got a lot more personal.
Two fighters will meet in the main event of UFC Freedom on June 14th to unify the UFC lightweight titles.
Topuria has posted pictures of himself on Instagram placing a white rose at at shine of past opponents he has defeated. There is a space for a rose at a picture of Gaethje.
Along with the photos, Topuria wrote:
Casa Blanca. Rosa blanca. Y una siesta en sus jardines. No muchos podrán decir eso, Justin.
The White House. A white rose. And a nap in its gardens. Not many people will be able to say that, Justin.
Gaethje was not impressed with the posturing and brought up Topuria’s recent divorce.
“All that guy is, is a gimmick. He calls himself the king. He thinks he’s a God. What an annoying little bastard. I couldn’t imagine being in a room with him for 30 minutes listening to him talk about himself…and I can say this: I would leave him. That’s all I’m saying. I would leave him. No way I would put up with his s–t,” he said to Fox Sports.
Earlier this week in a family video Gaethje posted on YouTube his father John Ray Gaethje is seen saying:
“This is the biggest fight of his life but we’ve said that there or four other times. He’s fighting another little short guy and he’s done really well against [Michael] Chandler and [Rafael] Fiziev and a few others. I just see the same thing happening for this fight. This is what we trained for. This is what he put his whole life into since he was 4 years old. I’m excited and ready for it to happen.”
Topuria responded to the comments in the video by writing on X:
Fathers hope. Champions know. I’ve heard this story before: bigger men, stronger men, better men. Men who said I was just a small guy who was about to get a lesson in humility. They all learned the truth the same way. Your son already knows who I am. On June 14th, you will too. 18-0 PAPA
Fathers hope. Champions know.
I’ve heard this story before: bigger men, stronger men, better men. Men who said I was just a small guy who was about to get a lesson in humility.
They all learned the truth the same way.
Your son already knows who I am. On June 14th, you will… https://t.co/gh92btnpDG
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) June 2, 2026
Gaethje’s record is 27–5 while Ilia Topuria remains undefeated at 17–0.
