Justin
Gaethje's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, believes Ilia
Topuria has no say in whether an immediate rematch happens.

Topuria suffered the first loss of his professional career against
Gaethje, losing the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at
UFC Freedom 250 in June. Topuria has since pushed for a
rematch. Abdelaziz, however, dismissed the possibility.

Ali Abdelaziz says Justin Gaethje has nothing to gain from an
immediate Ilia Topuria rematch

Talking with Submission Radio, Abdelaziz emphasized that Topuria
doesn't have the power to call for an immediate rematch. He further
claimed that Gaethje simply has the Georgian-Spaniard's number and
will beat him again should they run it back.

“He’s not fighting Justin Gaethje next,†Abdelaziz said. “He
doesn’t call the shots. Only one guy in the past did that and his
name is Conor
McGregor and he’s not Conor McGregor. Nobody is. He was a
favorite because everybody thought he was better than Justin. I
believe Justin Gaethje will beat him nine out of 10 times. You know
why? Justin has his number. I don’t think he can beat Justin
Gaethje. He thinks he can, and he should think he can. He was close
to beating Justin Gaethje, but he didn’t. At the end of the day,
this fight will never happen. I can tell you this: Justin Gaethje
has zero gain to beat Ilia Topuria again.â€

Abdelaziz then addressed Topuria's claim that Gaethje had something
unusual in his gloves during their fight.

“If this is what he wants to say that he had rocks in his gloves,
that’s a compliment to Justin Gaethje; how hard he punches,â€
Abdelaziz said. “I’m not going to be insulted by that, because the
Las Vegas Commission was there, the D.C. Commission was there,
Andy
Foster from California was there. He had three commissions
watching him about the gloves. But he said that (during) Arman’s
fight week to take away from Arman and Ruffy’s hype. This is what
Conor used to do, and he did a good job. He got himself in the
media.â€

Dana
White has addressed Paulo
Costa's frustration with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Costa recently slammed UFC exec Hunter Campbell after he was
seemingly offered a short-notice five-round bout for the final
fight of his current contract. While the former title challenger is
open to accepting a five-rounder, he wants to be compensated
accordingly and have ample time to prepare for a 25-minute bout.
The Brazilian has even repeatedly requested his release from the
promotion.

Paulo Costa says he wants his final UFC fight as Dana White
points to offers he turned down

When asked about Costa's comments following
Week 7 of
Dana White's Contender Series, White acknowledged the fighter's
frustration but revealed that “Borrachinha†has turned down several
fights.

“Oh, yeah. [Paulo is] frustrated, yeah,†White said. “He’s been
offered fights and turned them down. We don’t just say, ‘f*ck Paulo
Costa,’ and, ‘you’re not going to get a fight,’ and ‘no, we’re not
going to pay you,’ and ‘no, we’re not going to do this.’ Guys get
offered three fights a year regularly, even guys who aren’t
fighting. Tom
Aspinall’s eyes are messed up. He’s getting offered fights. You
think Paulo Costa isn’t getting offered fights?â€

Costa previously called for an interim title fight amidst light
heavyweight champ Carlos
Ulberg's rehabilitation from injury, but later claimed the UFC
wasn't interested. Most recently, he was called out by former champ
Magomed
Ankalaev.

Ok, I'm making this public and clear:
I have 1 fight left. On my contract The purse is set for 3 rounds,
not 5. I'm asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on
contract . It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roaster.

I think Hunter has 3 options now:
A) Give me that last…

— Paulo
Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA)
September 20, 2026

Dana White responds to Paulo Costa
asking for a fight:

“He’s been offered fights and turned them down. We don’t just say
‘f*ck Paulo
Costa’. You think Paulo Costa
isn’t getting offered fights?” 😬 pic.twitter.com/OHrWv7eAsc

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
September 23, 2026