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‘I’m back’: Ilia Topuria reveals he’s been cleared to return to action after brutal UFC White House loss; Justin Gaethje responds

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‘I’m back’: Ilia Topuria reveals he’s been cleared to return to action after brutal UFC White House loss; Justin Gaethje responds

Ilia Topuria is ready to reclaim his throne.

Speculation has been running wild for days about a timeline for Topuria to make his return to action following a brutal back-and-forth battle against Justin Gaethje at the UFC White House card. Topuria reportedly suffered several major injuries, which eventually forced his coaches to stop the fight after the fourth round to prevent any further damage.

Now Topuria has finally issued his own statement revealing that he's been cleared to return to action and he's got a lot of work to do now that he's back.

“Final medical tests done. I'm back,†Topuria wrote on Twitter. “To all the clowns who've been talking shit and counting me out this whole time, here I am. Now let's see who's got the balls.

“Thanks to everyone for the support. Next time I'll make sure they check Justin's gloves so he doesn't put anything weird on them. See you soon.â€

It's the first time Topuria has made the claim that Gaethje had something “weird†on his gloves during the fight. Gaethje earned the victory after going to war with Topuria and eventually gaining the upper had by dishing out more punishment in the final two rounds that led to the stoppage.

As far as Topuria's comeback fight, it's possible the UFC decides to just run it back immediately with Gaethje considering the attention and ratings the first fight earned.

There's also a potential showdown with Paddy Pimblett staring Topuria down after they've engaged in a heated rivalry for the past couple of years.

Obviously, Topuria would like to get his title back, and he took a direct parting shot at Gaethje and his manager Ali Abdelaziz after telling the world he was cleared to fight again.

“By the way Justin, f*ck you,†Topuria wrote. “And Ali, f*ck you too.â€

It didn't take long for Gaethje to hear about Topuria's readiness to fight again or making some strange accusation about his gloves from the fight in June.

“94 days and the best you could come up with is a lame excuse,†Gaethje fired back. “As terrible as your last performance. Do better kid.â€

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MMA

Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones ignite a very personal UFC legacy feud

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5 hours ago

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September 16, 2026

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Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones ignite a very personal UFC legacy feud
Islam
Makhachev and Jon Jones are
going back and forth online.

Makhachev recently discredited Jones' title run in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship because of repeated drug-testing
violations. Jones fired back at Makhachev, claiming the UFC's
drug-testing partners at the time had dismissed his failures as
unintentional and not performance-enhancing.

Jon Jones invokes Islam Makhachev’s lone loss before the UFC
pound-for-pound king targets Jones’ past

In addition to defending his run-ins with USADA, “Bones†further
boasted his near-perfect record while reminding Makhachev of his
lone career loss against Adriano
Martins in 2015. Jones listed several reasons why he considers
his legacy superior to that of Makhachev, referencing praise he
once received from Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, before taking a shot at
Daniel
Cormier.

Jones wrote on X:

“Let's start this week by dispelling rumors that have been spread
by people chasing me: 1. If you believe USADA for finding a
picogram in my system, then you must believe USADA when they say
“It was not found to be PERFORMANCE ENHANCING or INTENTIONAL.†You
can't have it both ways. 2. Last I checked, my hand got raised
every time I was in the Octagon since any of you can remember. 3.
Your own coach said I was “a gift from God.†4. Let's not forget
you've been KO'd, flat-lined, went night night. 5. DC I kicked you
in the head LOL; keep telling yourself it was steroids. Whatever
you need to tell yourselves to sleep better at night, go for it.
Keep chasing; it's lonely at the top, Islam, hopefully I'll see you
up here one day.â€

Responding to Jones, Makhachev said that he doesn't intend to take
away from the former UFC double champ's achievements. However, the
Russian subtly reminded Jones of his multiple run-ins with the
law.

“Jon, I'm not trying to diminish your achievements in any way,â€
Makhachev responded. “But your whole life seems to be tied to
breaking the rules one way or another, and somehow, you're never
the one to be blamed.â€

Jones hasn't fought since beating Stipe
Miocic. He subsequently vacated the heavyweight title, but has
left the door open to an Octagon return. Meanwhile, Makhachev is
atop the sport at the moment, having recently recorded his first
title defense at welterweight and breaking Anderson
Silva's record for most consecutive wins in UFC history.


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MMA

Alexandre Pantoja isnt interested in selling Joshua Van rematch

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7 hours ago

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September 16, 2026

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Alexandre Pantoja isn't interested in selling Joshua Van rematch
Alexandre
Pantoja is fully focused on his upcoming rematch with Joshua
Van.

Pantoja (30-6) will look to reclaim the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title against Van
(17-2) at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Rather than
stoking the flames of their rivalry in the lead-up to their
rematch, the former champ is solely thinking about the fight.

Alexandre Pantoja says his sole focus is beating Joshua Van at
UFC 331

Pantoja says the lead-up to his rematch against Van will be
different than their first encounter. The Brazilian has no room in
his mind to sell this fight by building up the rivalry and isn't
even interested in the press conference or other pre-fight customs.
While Pantoja knows fans like some pre-fight antics, he believes he
gave them their fair share last time around.

“Now it's gonna be a little bit different than last time,†Pantoja
told Full Send MMA. “I don't try to sell this fight anymore; I'm
here to fight. I'm in fight week and I'm not here for the press
conference; I'm here for Saturday night. Doesn't matter what he
talks about. I know people love the press conference and all that,
but I gave you a good show last time. My mind is only focused on
Saturday.â€

While the dynamic between the two was amicable going into their
first meeting last year, a presser following the announcement of
the rematch featured Van taking shots at Pantoja, who didn't take
kindly to the disrespect.

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MMA

Alex Pereira laughs at Ciryl Gane’s promotion to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion

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7 hours ago

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September 16, 2026

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Alex Pereira laughs at Ciryl Gane’s promotion to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion

Alex Pereira isn't showing new undisputed UFC champion Ciryl Gane any respect.

With Tom Aspinall officially vacating the heavyweight title this past Monday due to injury, Gane has officially been promoted from interim to undisputed champion. Aspinall suffered injuries to both eyes when he fought Gane at UFC 321 this past October, when Gane accidentally delivered an eye-poke that led to their bout being ruled a no-contest due to Aspinall being unable to continue. Since then, Aspinall has been out of action, while Gane went on to win the interim belt with a knockout win over Pereira at UFC White House.

On Wednesday, Pereira took to Instagram to mock Gane's ascension.

“Poatan†added the caption, “Champion†accompanied by three laughing emojis.

It's not yet clear how the UFC plans to handle Gane's unexpected reign, with Pereira, Volkov, and the undefeated Josh Hokit all circling a potential opportunity to challenge for the title.

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