Justin Gaethje wanted first crack at Ilia Topuria now that “El Matador” has abandoned the 145-pound throne to chase lightweight gold. Unfortunately for “The Highlight,” UFC matchmakers had other plans and booked Topuria against former 155-pound titleholder Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira defeated Gaethje by submission at UFC 274 back in May 2022.
“He was pissed,” UFC play-by-play man, Jon Anik, said on The Anik & Florian Podcast. “He feels like certainly he was passed over in favor of Charles Oliveira for this opportunity against Ilia Topuria and I think what Justin Gaethje and his manager Ali Abdelaziz are looking for is just some sort of guarantee that they will be next because it’s May 19 and the good news for this Topuria-Oliveira fight is that it’s June 28, it’s less than six weeks away.”
Topuria vs. Oliveira headlines the UFC 317 pay-per-view on June 28 in Las Vegas.
“I don’t think it’s a crazy request for Justin,” Anik continued. “Having done what he did against Rafael Fiziev, staying on the fight card, not fighting Dan Hooker, getting a win, distance from the UFC 300 result — and by the way, he fought at UFC 300 to help the UFC when he could have fought for the undisputed championship at that point in time — so I wouldn’t be surprised if Gaethje gets some sort of guarantee that he’s next for the Topuria-Oliveira winner. But I can just tell you Justin was not thrilled.”
There are a lot of angry contenders at 155 pounds these days.
The 36 year-old Gaethje rebounded from a knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 to secure a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev as part of the UFC 313 lineup back in March. “The Highlight” has an incredible 14 post-fight performance bonuses with nine “Fight of the Night” honors.
For much more on the upcoming UFC 317 fight card click here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
