Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje are officially set to unify the UFC lightweight titles in the main event of UFC White House on June 14.
Gaethje, who captured the interim belt by defeating Paddy Pimblett this past January, recently shared a YouTube video from his training camp that featured an emotional speech from his parents. His father, John Ray Gaethje, framed the upcoming clash as another massive moment in his son’s career.
"This is the biggest fight of his life but we’ve said that there or four other times," John Ray Gaethje said, before pointing to Justin’s recent form. "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, 17-0 as a professional and coming off a first-round knockout over Charles Oliveira to claim a vacant 155-pound title, was sidelined afterward to deal with personal issues. After seeing the Gaethje family’s comments circulate on social media, he fired back publicly.
"Fathers hope. Champions know," Topuria wrote, later adding: "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"
