Ilia Topuria is heading into one of the biggest fights of his career against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, and his preparation is built on studying every possible angle of danger. The White House card on June 14 brings a strange setting, but Topuria’s focus is locked on one thing: neutralizing Gaethje before he can get going.
Studying Gaethje Like a Game Plan Within a Game Plan
Topuria’s approach starts long before training camps fully ramp up. It begins with breaking down not just his own habits, but how his opponent’s team might try to solve him.
In a recent interview with Vic Blends, Topuria explained the method behind it.
“We start watching my fights from the perspective of, ‘We are Justin’s team.’”
“Like, for example, once we got the confirmation that we were fighting with with Justin, the first thing I used to do with my team we’d sit down in front of the screen and we go in like Justin’s team [as if] we have to advise Justin on how he has to fight against Ilia.”
“And we do the strategy of Justin. And based on Justin’s strategy, we make our strategy. We take away all his chances.”
The idea is to reverse engineer the fight. His team studies how they would attack him if they were in Gaethje’s corner.
Gaethje’s Own Adjustments Meet a Fully Built Blueprint
Justin Gaethje has also been open about refining his habits heading into this matchup. He has talked about tightening up mistakes that opponents could exploit.
That becomes a key storyline heading into fight night. Gaethje’s pressure and power have overwhelmed many fighters. But Topuria’s camp believes they have already mapped out where those moments usually begin.
Gaethje will likely aim to look more controlled than in past wars, especially compared to chaotic exchanges that defined some of his recent fights. Whether that version shows up inside the cage at the White House is one of the biggest unknowns of the matchup.