Aleksandre Topuria has played a central role in Ilia Topuria’s rise to the top of the UFC, putting his own career on hold to serve as a key part of his younger brother’s corner before resuming his own run in 2021. Ahead of UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, he offered a detailed breakdown of the Topuria camp’s view of Justin Gaethje.
Speaking on Ilia Topuria’s YouTube channel, Aleksandre zeroed in on Gaethje’s patterns and the specific window where he becomes most vulnerable.
“One important thing: Justin Gaethje picks his shots when you stand in front of him. When you stand here, which is like Michael Chandler, and he also picks when Michael Chandler leaned forward, when you stand with the leg way forward trying to dodge his uppercut, then he comes in with calf kicks. But when you stand a bit square on, he comes in with uppercuts. If you don’t want to take it and you show him, ‘OK, I’ll move my body forward,’ then he’s going to want to start hitting you from here because he has long range.”
He then identified what he sees as the central paradox in fighting Gaethje, explaining that the moment he is most open is also the most dangerous moment to attack him.
“He’s very fragile when he hits, but it’s a double-edged sword to choose to hit him when he’s hitting. So you’ve got to be very selective with your shots. When he hits is when he’s very vulnerable to shots because he doesn’t know how to hit clean. He doesn’t hit clean like you. He hits with everything. That’s where he’s vulnerable. But that’s where you have to be careful: If you choose to hit him when he’s open, it’s because you’ve calculated it a lot.”
Ilia Topuria enters the fight at 17-0 and is coming off first-round knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. Gaethje is 27-5 and holds the interim lightweight title. UFC Freedom 250 takes place June 14 at the White House South Lawn in Washington D.C.