Justin Gaethje is preparing for a massive lightweight title fight against unbeaten UFC star Ilia Topuria at Freedom 250. Ahead of the matchup, Gaethje compared Topuria's confidence and fighting mentality to former two-division champion Conor McGregor. Speaking on TMZ's Open Mike, the American fighter said Topuria uses the same aggressive belief in himself that helped McGregor become one of the biggest stars in MMA history.
Topuria's Perfect Record and Gaethje's Warning
Topuria enters the fight with a perfect 17-0 record and huge wins over Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira. While Gaethje admitted the Georgian-Spanish fighter has achieved incredible things early in his career, he also warned that every fighter eventually faces setbacks inside the cage. Gaethje now wants to become the first man to hand Topuria a loss in professional MMA.
Gaethje Compares Topuria's Confidence to McGregor
During the interview, Justin Gaethje explained that Ilia Topuria's self-belief is very similar to the approach Conor McGregor used during his rise in the UFC. According to Gaethje, that confidence has worked perfectly for Topuria so far because he has stayed undefeated and continued beating elite opponents.
Gaethje said: "I mean, this is how he approaches many fights. This is how he has been successful every time along the road, so, again it's similar to [Conor] McGregor, how McGregor approached it."
At the same time, Gaethje believes building an image of being unbeatable can become difficult once a fighter finally loses. He said he is excited about the opportunity to test Topuria and possibly give him the first defeat of his career.
Gaethje added: "You're gonna make yourself this unbeatable, infallible person and when you lose, where do you go from there? I can't wait to teach him that lesson."
Gaethje Acknowledges Topuria's Achievements
Gaethje also openly admitted that Topuria has already achieved more at 17-0 than he did during the same stage of his own MMA journey. The former interim lightweight champion explained that he also entered the UFC undefeated, but Topuria's recent victories over former champions make his record even more impressive.
Gaethje stated: "I have been there before. I was 17-0 at one point when I got to the UFC. He's much more accomplished at 17-0 than I was."
Even after praising Topuria, Gaethje made it clear that he still believes experience can change everything in MMA. He pointed out how unpredictable the sport can be and said one fight is enough to completely shift public opinion.
Gaethje concluded: "There is no doubt this kid is special but this sport is crazy, we have all seen it so many times where people count the opponent out and they come out on top. This is such a great opportunity for me to prove to people that as long as you stay the course, trust in the process, you control your destiny, and that's what I have done."
Gaethje also added that defeating Topuria would help him move forward from his recent losses to Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway, who both stopped him in his last two defeats.
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