The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight
titleholder recently announced that he has completed medical
testing and received clearance to resume competition three months
after his loss to Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250.

Ilia Topuria teases Justin Gaethje rematch after receiving
medical clearance

Gaethje nearly got finished in the second round and weathered the
storm before piling on the damage against Topuria in the main event
of the White House card. “El Matador†sustained significant facial
damage in the bout, to the point where his vision was severely
affected. Topuria's corner called for the end of the fight after
the fourth round, crowning Gaethje the new undisputed champ.

Topuria recently took to social media to announce that he has been
cleared to return to full training.

“Final medical tests done. I'm back,†Topuria wrote on X. “To all
the clowns who've been talking sh*t 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€

A rematch is strongly rumored while the championship mix at
lightweight remains largely open. Charles
Oliveira, Max
Holloway and Paddy
Pimblett are all coming off wins and gunning for a rematch with
Gaethje, who's revealed he's returning to action next year.

Justin
Gaethje pulled off a historic upset against Topuria at the

Ultimate Fighting Championship's White House event this past
June. Topuria was a massive favorite going into his first UFC
lightweight title defense against then-interim champion Gaethje,
who forced a corner stoppage before the final round.

Topuria recently made some curious claims about the fight, drawing
a strong reaction from Tsarukyan.

Arman Tsarukyan tells Ilia Topuria to accept his loss to Justin
Gaethje

Gaethje survived a treacherous second round before putting a
beating on Topuria in the third and fourth frames at
UFC Freedom 250. “El Matador†sustained extensive facial damage
and his vision was significantly affected during the fight.

Topuria recently announced that he is medically cleared to return
to action. He also called for a rematch against Gaethje, claiming
the champion put something “weird†in his gloves, prompting a
response from Tsarukyan, who said it would be impossible for
Gaethje to cheat with the athletic commission checking every
step.

Tsarukyan believes Topuria is looking for excuses, which is the
wrong way to deal with a loss. According to the top-ranked
lightweight, Topuria should accept his loss and look into what
mistakes he made.

“Just excuses,†Tsarukyan told Carlos Contreras Legaspi. “How can
the commission let [Gaethje] wear different gloves? They stay in,
check. Just excuses. You got to accept what really happened. You
got to start with what you did wrong. Not finding excuses and
talking about gloves.â€

Gaethje has inflicted significant damage to most of his opponents
in the UFC, even in defeat, with many fellow lightweights lauding
his power over the years, including Hall of Famer Khabib
Nurmagomedov.

Despaigne had finished all four of his pro fights within a combined
cage time of 5:13 when he made his UFC debut in 2024. The Olympic
taekwondo bronze medalist lived up to his hype by finishing
Josh
Parisian in 18 seconds in his promotional debut. However,
Despaigne's flaws were exposed as he was outwrestled in consecutive
losses against Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and Austen
Lane.

Robelis Despaigne details his improved ground game before
facing Tai Tuivasa at UFC 331

Despaigne (6-2) was released from the UFC in 2024 and went on to
compete in Karate Combat, where he won the heavyweight title. “The
Bad Boy†returned to mixed martial arts competition this past May
with a first-round knockout win over Junior dos
Santos at
Most Valuable Promotions' inaugural MMA event.

Despaigne has now re-signed with the UFC and is scheduled to begin
his second run against Tai Tuivasa
(14-10) at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. He feels more confident in his
second UFC run after gaining experience outside the Octagon. The
Cuban also believes he has significantly developed his ground game
since his first UFC stint. Despaigne still has the lofty goal of
becoming a UFC champion.

“I am happy to be back and thankful to the UFC for giving me the
opportunity to make my return,†Despaigne said in a recent
interview. “I gained about a year of experience outside of the UFC.
And now that I'm returning, I have much more confidence in myself.
The main difference is that I've got a lot of experience and I've
worked on my ground game. I feel as if it's a welcome party and I'm
gonna give it my all to get the victory… As always, I'm highly
ambitious and my goal is to get the UFC belt.â€