ILIA TOPURIA and Justin Gaethje had a tense final face-off ahead of their historic White House showdown.
The fan favourites, 29 and 37 respectively, top the bill of mixed martial arts‘ top promotion’s historic card in the shadow of the Oval Office 1600 on Jattvibeday.
Sign up for the Sport newsletter
Thank you!
Ilia Topuria looked in tip-top shape as he weighed in at the ceremonial UFC White House weigh-ins Credit: CHISANGA MALATA
The pair exchanged heated words in their final face off
Tensions between the pair have slowly escalated over the past few days after Gaethje’s subtle jibe at Topuria’s recent divorce.
They lit the blue touch paper for a tasty back-and-forth during Friday night’s press conference at the Lincoln Memorial.
Topuria used their penultimate face-off as a chance to get his hands on Gaethje before fight night, SHOVING him in the stomach.
Security quickly intervened to ensure the situation didn’t escalate.
WEIGHT WATCHER
Watch Ilia Topuria weigh-in for historic UFC White House bout vs Gaethje
U-S-A!
Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje: UFC Freedom 250 tips, odds, and betting predictions
And they, along with UFC President and CEO Dana White, were on hand to keep the peace during this morning‘s ceremonial weigh-ins.
Both men had no issue hitting the championship weight for their lightweight title unification bout, both coming in at 155lbs at the first time of asking.
They replicated their official weigh-ins yesterday in front of a raucous crowd at the Ellipse, which is just a stone’s throw away from the White House.
Fans of both men chanted their names as they mimicked their recent tipping of the scales.
SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS
Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje headline the UFC’s historic White House card this weekend Credit: UFC
The pair will throw down in a lightweight title unification bout in shadow of the Oval Office Credit: GETTY
And the thousands of MMA on the Ellipse exploded as they jawed one another down for the final time before they trade blows on the South Lawn.
Georgian-born Spaniard Topuria hasn’t fought since he viciously KO’d Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to become a two-division champion.
And he’s adamant he’ll add Gaethje’s name to his list of victims in a similar fashion.
In an exclusive interview with JattvibeSport, ‘E; Matador’ said: “I don’t have anything to say to him.
“I just want him to show up in a fight and I’m gonna do the rest.
UFC White House card in full
Ilia Topuira vs. Justin Gaethje – lightweight title unification fight
Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane – interim heavyweight title
Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi – men’s bantamweight bout
Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis – heavyweight bout
Mauricio Ruffy vs. Michael Chandler – lightweight bout
Bo Nickal vs. Kyle Daukaus – middleweight bout
Diego Lopes vs. Steve Garcia – featherweight bout
“He’s been saying something that he’s gonna teach me a lesson and all that. I’ve heard that so many times.
“Especially in my last four fights, they’ve all been saying the same thing. ‘I’m going to teach him a lesson.’
“‘He’s too cocky his days and then he’s that.’ Listen, guy, we are gonna share the same octagon.
“If you think I’m wrong, prove me wrong.
“But guess what? I’m sure that you are not gonna prove me wrong, because I’m not wrong.”
