Overview
- Dana White said on a livestream that it is not true Ilia Topuria priced himself out of a White House fight with Islam Makhachev.
- The UFC has booked Topuria to defend his title against interim champion Justin Gaethje at the Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn.
- Topuria’s manager, Malki Kawa, said early offers for both Makhachev and Gaethje were too low, so the team declined at first.
- Kawa said the UFC later returned to make the fight, but Makhachev was unavailable with a hand injury, so negotiations finalized Gaethje instead.
- White has indicated Makhachev is targeting a return in August, and welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry used the back-and-forth to call for a title fight then.