Justin Gaethje Hands Still Hurt, Doubts Ilia Topuria Rematch Next
UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje says both of his hands are still hurting more than two months after he took the belt from Ilia Topuria. He also said he still does not believe an Ilia Topuria rematch is next.
Gaethje (28-5) stopped Topuria (17-1) by TKO after the fourth round of the UFC Freedom 250 main event on June 14. The corner stoppage on the White House South Lawn gave the 37-year-old the undisputed 155-pound title on his third try.
The damage from that fight has not gone away. Speaking with Sports Illustrated’s “In the Corner,” Gaethje said he spent three weeks at home after the win and still cannot hit anything.
“I still can’t punch anything,” Gaethje said. “Both of my hands are still hurt from the fight.”
He has been traveling and playing golf instead of sparring. “The broken hands don’t affect golfing,” he added.
The hands are not his only leftover problem. Gaethje said a deep bruise in his knee has been with him since Christmas and never healed through his last two bouts, a January decision over Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 and the June title fight with Topuria.
“I still have like a really deep bruise in my knee that I’ve had since Christmas, so I dealt with it through both of these last two fights and it never healed,” he said.
That is why he is not rushing back. “I’m just gonna enjoy being the champion for the rest of the year because I fought 2 times already in the 1st 6 months,” Gaethje said.
Both men were given 180-day medical suspensions after the White House card. Gaethje’s could be shortened with clear MRIs on his right wrist and left knee, while Topuria was dealing with two non-displaced orbital fractures.
Topuria has already asked for a second meeting. In a post after the loss, he wrote that their story was “far from over” and added, “We will have our rematch.”
Gaethje has rejected that idea since the night he won the belt. He told Joe Rogan in June that Topuria’s corner ended the fight and that the former champion needed to beat someone else before earning another shot.
He did not change that view in the new interview. Asked whether his stance was still firm because Topuria’s team pulled him off the stool, Gaethje pointed first to the UFC.
“Ultimately the UFC makes the decision on who I’m gonna fight next,” he said.
He does not expect the promotion to send him straight back in with Topuria. “I guess if I’m not fighting till next year, he’s probably not gonna fight till next year too, seeing as he’s probably recovering from some things,” Gaethje said.
Then he closed the door, at least for now. “I don’t think that’s my next fight. I don’t feel it in my gut.”
That leaves the lightweight title picture in a holding pattern through the rest of 2026. Gaethje has already fought twice this year, which he noted is rare for him, and he said he plans to weigh the decision with family before he commits to another camp.
He did not name a first challenger. He did say he is watching Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy on Sept. 19 at UFC 331 in Los Angeles, a five-round co-main event that has been discussed as a path to the title.
Ruffy has said the UFC told him a win over Tsarukyan would put a championship fight on the table. Gaethje, as champion, said any big lightweight matchup now sits in his orbit.
He also made it clear retirement is not a finished thought. Gaethje said he just turned in the best performance of his career against a fighter many considered unbeatable, and that is a major reason he has not shut the door on fighting again.
For now, the champion is recovering, golfing, and waiting. The UFC will make the next matchup, but Gaethje’s latest comments leave little room for a quick Topuria sequel while his hands are still not ready to punch.