DANA WHITE has addressed claims that a historic fight set to land on the UFC’s White House card fell through due to money issues.
Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will top the bill of the on June 14 in a unification bout with interim titleholder .
Ilia Topuria tops the bill of the UFC’s White House card on June 14 against Justin GaethjeCredit: SHUTTERSTOCK
A fight with pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev was briefly on the cards for ‘El Matador’Credit: GETTY
But an even bigger fight was in the works for Topuria just days before the announcement of his showdown with Gaethje.
The promotion were working on a champion vs champion bout between Topuria and his welterweight counterpart Islam Makhachev.
But the fight, which has been on fans’ wishlists for well over a year, didn’t come to fruition.
A public war of words between both men has ensued, with Makhachev blaming Topuria’s financial demands for the fight fall through.
He wrote on X: “I got the call and accepted the fight at the .
“The next day, I was told [Topuria] asked for an unrealistic purse.
“The declined, and he pulled out.”
Makhachev’s claim that the pair aren’t topping the White House card due to Topuria pricing himself out was this week put to White.
UFC White House Card In Full
Ilia Topuria v Justin Gaethje – Lightweight title unification fight
Alex Pereira vs Cyril Gane – Interim heavyweight title fight
Sean O’Malley vs Aiemann Zahabi – men’s bantamweight bout
Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler – lightweight bout
Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus – middleweight bout
Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia – featherweight bout
And the UFC’s long-time President and CEO gave an incredibly blunt answer to the question.
During a live stream with Adin Ross, he said: “That’s not true. That’s not true.”
White added: “The most important thing for me is to have fights that make sense.
“Fights that make sense with the division rankings, but also fighters I can count on and know will show up on fight night.”
Topuria, who hasn’t fought since his last June, has also denied suggestions that a fight with Makhachev crumbled due to financial demands.
UFC boss Dana White insists Ilia Topuria didn’t price himself out of a fight with Islam MakhachevCredit: getty
He told Marca : “I received the call from the UFC and they said I could still be on the White House card fighting Islam Makhachev.
“Dana White came out saying he’d announce the entire card in two days.
“So I thought if I was there, it would be against Islam.
“Suddenly, I was called and told that Islam was injured and that I would go against Justin Gaethje.
“There were points of the negotiation that we were debating, but it is secondary.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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