UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria sent his fans one final message before his fight tonight at UFC Freedom 250.
Topuria puts the UFC lightweight belt on the line in a title unification bout against interim champ Justin Gaethje in a highly anticipated main event bout that takes place on the White House lawn.
With the fight just hours away now, Topuria sent out one final message to his fans.
Ilia Topuria’s Final Message to Fans Before UFC White House Card
Taking to his social media just a few hours before he steps into the cage with Gaethje in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., Topuria shared a final message to his fans.
“God, thank you for everything. Thank you for every moment lived and for bringing me here, to places my human mind could never have imagined. My faith will always be in You. And once again, the glory is Yours. 18-0. Victory in the first assault,” Topuria wrote on his Instagram.
At the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday night, Topuria appeared to be in the best shape of his MMA career to date, as he’s had a year since his last bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to rest, recover, and put on more muscle for his second bout in the lightweight division. He seems to have really filled into his 155 lbs frame and looks like he’s added considerable muscle to deal with heavier opponents in his next weight class. On Sunday, we’ll see how that affects him in the bout.
Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje Betting Odds
With the event just hours away, Topuria is a -500 betting favorite, with Gaethje as a +375 underdog.
It’s really no surprise at all to see Topuria enter this bout as a big favorite, given he is the champion, undefeated, and seen as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
But Gaethje shouldn’t be completely counted out, as UFC president Dana White reminded everyone how dangerous he is in his own right and how many times he has pulled off upsets in the past.
The odds are certainly not in Gaethje’s favor for this fight. After all, he is considerably over, has faced far more attrition during his MMA career, and stylistically, he is at a disadvantage anywhere the fight goes.
But it’s MMA, and we see upsets happen all the time in this sport. We have seen some of the best fighters in the sport go down and lose, so no one is a lock in this sport.
Anytime you lock two men inside a steel cage, truly, anything can happen. You can simulate these fights as many times as you want, and on paper, one man should be the favorite to get his hand raised.
But these fights aren’t played out on paper. They are played out inside the Octagon, where anything can happen when you lock two talented mixed martial artists with four-ounce gloves on against each other with tons of money and championship belts on the line between them.
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