Joe Rogan is pushing back on the betting line for this weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 main event, warning fans not to write off Justin Gaethje against Ilia Topuria.
Gaethje is set to face Topuria on Sunday in a lightweight title unification bout at the White House in Washington DC, streaming on Paramount+. FanDuel lists Topuria as a -560 favorite, with Gaethje a +370 underdog, a spread Rogan strongly disagrees with.
“Four-to-one (favorite) is crazy,” Rogan said on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Rogan highlighted Topuria’s recent run, saying, “If you just think about what he's done in his last three fights, he's had the most legendary run in MMA championship history in his last three fights. He knocked out three all-time greats – knocks out Alexander Volkanovski, knocks out Max Holloway, knocks out Charles Oliveira. Three in a row. Anybody who can do that, you go, 'I'm not f*cking betting anything against that guy.' But Justin Gaethje's a tough character, son. The thing is, man, don't think that Justin Gaethje can't win. Anybody can lose in an MMA fight. People get hit.”
Rogan also pointed to Topuria’s early UFC lightweight bout with Jai Herbert and contrasted the power both men bring: “Ilia Topuria… a switch kick to the dome that dropped him. It was perfect, but he recovered brilliantly. ... He f*cking puts people into orbit, man. His power is crazy. He's not a big guy either. Justin's a much bigger guy than him, but the way he knocks guys out, it's just dead. He knocks them out dead, but so does Gaethje. People forget it, Gaethje is a f*cking war hammer, dude. That guy loves battles. It's a tough fight, man.”
Gaethje enters UFC Freedom 250 as the interim lightweight champion after winning the belt as an underdog by handing Paddy Pimblett his first UFC loss at UFC 324. Rogan will be on the call Sunday as Gaethje and Topuria clash to unify the lightweight titles.
