Never mind Conor McGregor and Jon Jones, Topuria is, right now, the UFC’s biggest star.
If they can build statues of Christopher Columbus, Ilia Topuria can headline UFC White House
UFC White House is ever so slowly coming into focus. Ari Emanuel, the CEO of TKO, told Pat McAfee there will be six or seven fights on the card, which is circled for June 14. He said there would likely be 3,000-4,000 people in attendance on the South Lawn for that special Sunday, which is about double the occupancy the UFC used to do at the old Pearl at the Palms before Dana White got banned.
Will all six or seven of those be title fights, as President Donald Trump imagined a couple of months back when sensationalizing the amplitude of the card? Unless the UFC invents some offshoots of the BMF belt, probably not – that would create a scheduling vortex that would wipe out two to three months of shows in both directions of the calendar. And they don’t need that many title fights, if we’re being honest, because the music that’s been hitting the UFC’s ears this week is coming from Spain, where they are referring to the card as UFC Casa Blanca.
That’s because lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, now on the other side of a very public divorce and custody battle, has declared himself ready to roll. “The Champ is back!!!” he posted on Instagram, and a million people hearted the words. Never mind Conor McGregor and Jon Jones, Topuria is, right now, the UFC’s biggest star. Did you see the paparazzi that followed him into the courtroom? Did you see the lived-in demeanor in which he dealt with it? Dude knows his status too well.
In Spain, Topuria sells tabloids. In America, he sells magnitude.
With the Washington card four months away, that’s plenty of time for Topuria to prepare for his return. And his counterpart is ready to go, too.
Justin Gaethje, who won the interim title last month to kick off the Paramount+ era and was seen this week enjoying the Super Bowl festivities in Santa Clara, California, believes the unification bout will be the headliner at the White House. That is a fine fight, even though the American in the equation – Gaethje – will be a sizable underdog. Topuria, who is a pound-for-pound frontrunner alongside Islam Makhachev, would be favored against anybody at 155 pounds. Yet it so happens one of the heroes of the White House, the OG Christopher Columbus, sailed over from Spain. Given enough spin, that’s perhaps good enough to create some in-stereo American vibes.
If they can make a statue of Columbus, they can make an event around Topuria.
And the truth is, unless the UFC can dust off the rivalry between George Washington and Lord Cornwallis, there aren’t a lot of options for an American hero at UFC White House. None that would fit the patriotic necessity of the occasion, anyway. Jon Jones, who has lost Dana’s trust over the last couple of years, isn’t strengthening his case by talking about an arthritic hip. Besides, who does he fight if not the heavyweight champion, the U.K.’s own Tom Aspinall? Alex Pereira? “Poatan” didn’t seem too optimistic he would get the call for the card in December.
Ciryl Gane? Jones already beat him easily a few years back. Besides, Gane is waiting for the Aspinall redo.
The postponed fight between all-American Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes would serve as a solid co-main event. Harrison has strongly endorsed the current administration and would carry the flag well in what is considered the GOAT fight in women’s MMA history. The biggest issue is whether she will be ready to go, as she’s coming off neck surgery to repair herniated discs. If she can, that fight is a no-brainer.
And sticking Conor McGregor in the swing bout against Lotto Winning Fighter would be either the dumbest thing the UFC can do or perhaps…you know…a stroke of genius. The presence of McGregor, who hasn’t fought since 2021 and hasn’t been anything other than a main event since 2014, would give the card the special occasion otherness the UFC seeks. McGregor as an opening act would inherently make the subsequent fights feel that much bigger.
Which is to say, it would frame Topuria in the right spotlight. He is the Dog Star right now in the UFC, the apex competitor where no novelty shticks need apply. If McGregor doesn’t like it, just remind him that Queen opened for Mott the Hoople in 1974. There’s no shame in the arrangement. Yet there is a definitive nod to what’s most actively vital. One of the reasons Topuria has become a fascination in such a short time is that his last three victories – against a legion of all-time greats – have aged well enough to build his mythology.
He knocked out Alexander Volkanovski two years ago at UFC 298, and Volk went on to reclaim the 145-pound title and tie Jose Aldo for most title victories in featherweight history. He knocked out Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi, and Holloway went on to defend the BMF title in what was Dustin Poirier’s swan song in New Orleans. He knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title, and Oliveira went out and beat Mateusz Gamrot in October. All his conquests are still out there beating everybody else.
As for the other three or four fights on UFC White House, plug in the Bo Nickals and Colby Covingtons and Jorge Masvidals. But Topuria is big enough for the South Lawn.
It doesn’t matter if he bleeds red, white and blue when the primary color has always been green. When you have a star of his caliber – and it’s been difficult for the UFC to unearth blockbuster stars over the last few years – you let him shine on the biggest card you can. As for the rest of the pageantry, of which there will be plenty, it can fall nicely around him.
Category: General Sports
