Gaethje stuns Topuria to claim first undisputed UFC title after years of near-misses

Justin Gaethje claimed his first undisputed UFC lightweight title with an upset victory over Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC White House, capping a career defined by near-misses and high-profile setbacks. The win ended a long wait for “The Highlight”, who had twice held interim gold but never converted that into undisputed championship status.

The road to the title had been brutal. Gaethje was finished by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira in two previous undisputed title shots, then suffered one of the most dramatic knockouts in UFC history when Max Holloway stopped him at UFC 300. Speaking on the podcast What Hones You alongside his coach Trevor Wittman, Gaethje admitted those defeats tested his belief.

“I mean, it doesn’t sound practical to say I never thought that it was gone,” Gaethje said. “Because going through those two fights, and then the Max Holloway fight after that, it made it real difficult.”

He had entered the Holloway fight on a winning run that included a knockout of Dustin Poirier, with a title shot seemingly within reach. When Topuria moved up to lightweight and took the belt shot Gaethje had been eyeing, it complicated his path considerably. “That kind of throws a wrench in everything,” he said.

Rather than fade, Gaethje rebuilt. He defeated Rafael Fiziev before a dominant decision win over Paddy Pimblett in the main event of UFC 324 in January earned him a second interim title and, ultimately, the undisputed shot against Topuria.

Through it all, Gaethje said he never stopped believing the sport’s unpredictability would eventually work in his favour.

“I never really lost hope,” he said. “I always knew that I was performing better than I had, I knew that my body still felt as good as it ever did. I knew that this sport was crazy, and I just had to put wins together. And, yeah, that was the mindset.”