With two weeks remaining before his lightweight title unification bout against Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuira appeared in the UFC’s latest promotional video for the historic White House event. There he unveiled a rose created for his upcoming opponent.
The Meaning Behind Topuria’s White Rose
Throughout his UFC run, Topuria has embraced the nickname “El Matador” by incorporating imagery associated with traditional bullfighting culture.
In Spanish bullfighting tradition, a matador offers a final sign of respect after the contest is over, in the form of a rose. For Topuria, the flower represents a gesture of appreciation toward the opponent standing across from him.
Of course, this could also be interpreted as a sign of disrespect. It seems to suggest that Topuria is going to dispatch Gaethje like a raging bull.
Geathje enters as a huge underdog
As Justin Gaethje prepares to challenge Ilia Topuria for the lightweight belt at the historic UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn, UFC betting sites have positioned him as a massive underdog.
Oddsmakers have Topuria opening around a whopping -599 to -600 favorite, while Gaethje is sitting as a +410 to +500 underdog. The implied probability has Topuria sitting at roughly an 82% chance to win, leaving Gaethje with just an 18-19% shot.
This puts Gaethje in the biggest underdog role of his UFC career, even versus Khabib Nurmagomedov, he was “only” a -240 underdog.