Jorge
Masvidal still has confidence in Ilia
Topuria.
Topuria (17-1) was a heavy favorite when he put his UFC lightweight
title on the line against then-interim champion Justin
Gaethje (28-5) at the White House in June. However, Gaethje
rallied to win a back-and-forth fight when Topuria’s corner stopped
the bout after the fourth round.
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Masvidal praised his former training partner long before Topuria
became a two-division champion.
“Gamebred” still favors Topuria in a rematch, pointing to his
body-shot knockdown of Gaethje as evidence that he could reverse
the result. Masvidal said on the “Double Coverage” podcast:
“He dropped Gaethje. Gaethje is the current champion. He dropped
him with a body shot. Maybe, had he not gone for the submission,
his mind was a little clouded, maybe could have got stopped. I
would bet the house on Ilia in a rematch.”
Topuria entered the matchup after consecutive knockout victories
over Alexander
Volkanovski, Max
Holloway and Charles
Oliveira. Those performances helped establish him as a
two-division champion before Gaethje handed him his first
professional defeat.