Justin
Gaethje gives credit where it's due.

Gaethje (28-5) recently heaped praise on former foe Ilia
Topuria (17-1). The
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder gave the
former two-division champ a lesson in humility with a brutal
beating at
UFC Freedom 250 at the White House this past June. He believes
“El Matador†will be extremely dangerous on his Octagon return.

Gaethje still considers Topuria one of the UFC's best after
handing him his first loss

Gaethje won the undisputed UFC lightweight title in a huge upset as
Topuria's corner called for a stoppage at the end of the fourth
round. “The Highlight†believes Topuria will dominate his next
opponent as he looks to rebound from his first professional
loss.

While Gaethje and Topuria have exchanged trash talk, the former has
never doubted the latter's skill set. Gaethje still considers
Topuria one of the best fighters in the world and wants to see him
thrive.

“Whoever fights [Topuria] next is gonna be f*cked,†Gaethje said on
the “Double Coverage†podcast. “If he forgets how dangerous this
sport is, how there is a little bit of luck and chance and makes
mistakes, he is not going to be at his best or locked in as he
should be. But outside of that, without those mental mistakes, he
is one of the best in the world. There's no doubt about it.
Everything I say, I'm never talking sh*t about the guy because he
is so good. I want to see him come back. I want to see him thrive;
I want to see him prosper.â€

There are rumblings of a rematch between Topuria and Gaethje being
in the works. However, Arman
Tsarukyan further solidified his status as the No.1 contender
and bolstered his case for a long-overdue title shot with a
first-round knockout win over Mauricio
Ruffy at UFC
331 on Sept. 19.

THE KNOCKOUT THAT SHOOK TIJUANA! 🇲🇽

Julian Fernandez takes home Knockout of the Night in his hometown!
👊#BKB59
#BKB

#BareKnuckle pic.twitter.com/JXuZghNtA4

— BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing (@bkbbareknuckle)
September 20, 2026

Bare Knuckle Boxing made its debut in Mexico on Sept. 19.

BKB 59 went down at Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, Mexico.
Tijuana's own Julian Fernandez put his super cruiserweight title on
the line against Dan Podmore in the main event.

Julian Fernandez stops Dan Podmore after an early knockdown at
BKB 59

Fernandez survived an early first-round knockdown and returned the
favor later in the round. He took a little over a minute in the
second round to finish Podmore.

Cecy Ulloa took on Andy Nguyen for the super flyweight title in the
co-main event at BKB 59. Ulloa put on a beating on Nguyen for three
rounds, leaving her unable to answer the bell for the fourth.

Here are the complete BKB 59 results:

Julian Fernandez def. Dan Podmore via KO (1:12 of Round 2)
Cecy Ulloa def. Andy Nguyen via TKO (2:00 of Round 3)
Romario Ovalle vs. Marco Chino Villa ruled a No Contest due to an
accidental headbutt (0:45 of Round 3)
Pablo Felipe Anguiano def. Ricardo Ramses Rueda via KO (0:41 of
Round 1)
Adrian Gonzalez def. Javier Santiago Valverde via TKO (2:16 of
Round 1)
Felipe Abraham Huerta def. Erick Eduardo Soria via TKO (2:32 of
Round 3)
Jonathan Duran def. Kevin Millan Sanchez via KO (1:59 of Round
2)
Jesus Navarrete via KO (0:17 of Round 1)
Ramon Olivas def. Jovani Misael Sanchez via KO (2:29 of Round
1)
Sergio Zarate def. Rolando Paredes via Unanimous Decision (49-46,
49-46, 49-46)
Jesus Rodriguez def. Ricardo Ibarra via KO (2:18 of Round 1)
Norberto Pozos Flores def. Mauricio Anaya by TKO (1:42 of Round 1)

Dana
White isn't looking forward to a potential Josh Hokit
title reign in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Hokit will challenge Ciryl Gane
for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Gane
was elevated to undisputed champion following Tom
Aspinall's relinquishment of the belt and “The Incredible Hokâ€
will be the Frenchman's first challenger.

Dana White addresses Josh Hokit ahead of his UFC 334 title
fight against Ciryl Gane

White hasn't been coy about his views on Hokit, who has drawn the
ire of the UFC CEO previously, especially for his antics before and
during
UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.

With the unbeaten heavyweight now set to headline MSG, White was
asked about the same at the UFC
331 post-fight presser.

“I got a lot of thoughts on that,†White said. “Yeah, lots and
lots. I'm sure they're the same thoughts that you're all having. I
doubt we're that different. Yeah.â€

When pressed about Hokit's controversial promotion style, White
reiterated his stance of letting fighters say whatever they want
and that he doesn't have to have a positive relationship with an
athlete for them to thrive in the promotion.

“I don't police what people say and any of that sh*t and if you
keep winning…†White added. “I say it all the time, I don't have to
like you for you to thrive here and you do well and be successful.
Many people that I do not like have done very well here. I'm not
saying I don't like Josh Hokit; I literally don't like anything
Josh Hokit says. And that's not going to change unless he changes
and I don't see that happening.â€