Eddie Alvarez says Justin Gaethje is being underestimated heading into his lightweight unification bout with Ilia Topuria at UFC White House on June 14.
Gaethje holds the interim UFC Lightweight Championship after defeating Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision in January. Topuria is a heavy betting favorite for the unification fight, but Alvarez, who faced Gaethje in a memorable clash in 2017, told MMA Junkie the outcome is far from certain.
“Everyone’s writing him off, but I don’t know, man — this could go either way. I saw a clip recently of Ilia’s brother explaining to Ilia how to beat Justin, his tactics of what he would do against a guy like Justin, and it was scary of how spot-on he was. I was like, sh*t man. During my camp, I was trying to formulate a camp for a guy like Justin and how he steps in the pocket and forces you to fight. How do we beat a guy like this?”
Alvarez identified one specific area where Gaethje needs to be disciplined.
“Justin loses his eyes a little bit, and I don’t like that. In the exchanges you’ll see him look and throw this way. He can’t lose his eyes during this match, because what Ilia does, is Ilia keeps such a beautiful posture that his posture is so beautiful that he’s always ready to strike, and he doesn’t lose his eyes ever.”
Alvarez knocked out Gaethje in the third round of their 2017 fight. Gaethje has gone 8-4 since that loss.