Adesanya urges Topuria to skip Gaethje rematch and rebuild before chasing title again

Israel Adesanya has warned Ilia Topuria that taking an immediate rematch against Justin Gaethje would be a mistake, urging the former two-division UFC champion to secure a confidence-restoring win before pursuing another title shot.

Speaking on the Precision podcast, Adesanya drew directly on his own experience of bouncing back from a devastating defeat. At UFC 281, longtime rival Alex Pereira — who already held two kickboxing victories over Adesanya — stopped him late to capture the middleweight title in just his eighth MMA fight. Adesanya had a contractual rematch clause and used it at UFC 287, knocking Pereira out cold. He believes Topuria’s situation is meaningfully different.

“After a beating like that — because again, I’ve been on the receiving end of one of them — you have to realize, OK, how can I come back from this,” Adesanya said. “I went back straight away because I already had an immediate rematch cause or whatever. I don’t know if Ilia has that, but I’d advise him not to take it with Justin, because I think getting another win before cracking the title shot again would be best for him.”

Topuria suffered a stunning upset loss to Gaethje at UFC White House in June, entering the fight as a heavy favourite on the back of title-winning knockout victories over Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski. Gaethje, after surviving an early scare, dominated the Georgian for the better part of four rounds before Topuria was unable to answer the bell for the fifth. Topuria has since announced he is medically cleared and is targeting an immediate rematch.

Adesanya suggested a December return could work well for Topuria, arguing that his name still carries significant commercial weight regardless of the loss. “Ilia’s still a big name,” he said. “I’m not going by what the internet says — I think December’s good.”

For the lightweight title picture itself, Adesanya sees only one logical next challenger for Gaethje: Arman Tsarukyan. The No. 1 contender delivered a Performance of the Night knockout over Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 last Saturday, extending his record to 11 wins in his last 12 fights.

“I think Arman’s next,” Adesanya said. “He and Justin Gaethje has to be the next fight, who else? September, October, that could happen this year.”

Whether Topuria accepts that assessment or pushes ahead with a rematch bid remains to be seen, but Adesanya’s counsel carries the weight of someone who has navigated exactly that crossroads before.