Israel Adesanya Advises Ilia Topuria Against Immediate Justin Gaethje Rematch

Former UFC two-division champion Ilia Topuria is targeting an immediate rematch following his upset defeat to Justin Gaethje, but former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes that may not be the right path. Speaking on the Precision podcast, Adesanya cautioned Topuria against rushing straight back into a clash with Gaethje after suffering a grueling stoppage loss.

Topuria was recently cleared to compete again and has expressed interest in an immediate return to face Gaethje. In their initial matchup, Gaethje overcame an early scare to dominate Topuria across four rounds, leaving him unable to continue. Adesanya drew from his own past experience of rebounding from a knockout loss against longtime rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281 to claim a revenge knockout at UFC 287, but noted that taking another bout first would be the smarter strategic approach for Topuria.

In addition to questioning an immediate rematch, Adesanya argued that top-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan is the rightful next challenger for Gaethje. Tsarukyan secured a Performance of the Night knockout victory over Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331, marking his 11th win in his last 12 outings. Adesanya stated that Gaethje versus Tsarukyan is the clear matchup to make, suggesting dates in September, October, or January.