Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria has been assessing him wrong: “He’s backed himself into a corner”

Justin Gaethje thinks Ilia Topuria hasn’t been able to figure him out ahead of UFC Freedom 250.

Gaethje is hoping to become an undisputed UFC champion for the first time in his pro MMA career. To do so, he’ll need to pull off the upset over Topuria to cap off a historic card on the White House lawn this Sunday. While many believe Topuria’s crisp boxing will lead to Gaethje getting caught, “The Highlight” is always a live threat.

During his UFC Freedom 250 media day session, Gaethje was confident that Topuria hasn’t gotten a read on him throughout the buildup to this weekend’s event (via MMAFighting).

“He’s been wrong about me so many times,” Gaethje said. “When he heard I was going to fight Paddy Pimblett, he said I had zero chance. I definitely won that fight.

“I’m not sure what he thinks or why he thinks the way he thinks. But this is a crazy sport. He could definitely knock me out in the first two minutes. It wouldn’t be because he’s that much better than me. It’s because this sport is so f*cking crazy and anything can happen.”

Topuria has predicted a finish over Gaethje within two minutes. The interim lightweight champion believes “El Matador” has already put himself at a disadvantage.

“He’s backed himself into a corner,” Gaethje said. “Because when we go to a second round, how’s he going to justify that to himself? We go to the third round and he’s bleeding, how’s he going to justify that to himself when it should have been over already in his mind?

“I don’t go in there with expectations. I expect a 25-minute war and I expect to have to dig deep to overcome a lot of adversity and I’m ready to do that.”

Gaethje has been stopped in his two attempts at earning the distinction of being an undisputed UFC titleholder. He was choked out in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement fight back in 2020, which was contested for the UFC Lightweight Championship. That same title was at stake when Gaethje was submitted by Charles Oliveira in 2022.

Does Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje end early, or will the fight at least make it past the opening frame? Sound off in the comments below.