Ilia Topuria claims lightweight plans will change if Justin Gaethje wins at UFC 324 | BJPenn.com

Ilia Topuria has made quite the statement about what a win for Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 would do.

Gaethje is an underdog heading into his interim UFC Lightweight Championship fight against Paddy Pimblett, scheduled for January 24. The fight will headline UFC’s debut event on Paramount+. It’s a new era for UFC as the top MMA promotion ditches pay-per-view.

“The Highlight” has said he is considering UFC’s plans to eventually feature Topuria vs. Pimblett to disrupt booking. In conversation with MMA journalist Carlos Contreras LegaspiTopuria made a big claim about a possible Gaethje victory, which changed things.

Ilia Topuria says the UFC has other plans for Justin Gaethje if he beats Paddy Pimblett #UFC324 🤔

“Really, if Justin wins, the UFC has other plans that I can’t talk about right now.”

(via @Cclegaspi) pic.twitter.com/WQhIL9KDVl

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 14, 2025

“The truth is that I always accept God’s will,” Topuria said. “Whatever he wants to happen to me, it will be good if Paddy wins. Really, if Justin wins, the UFC has other plans that I can’t talk about right now. But if I was offered to fight Justin at the White House, it would be very exciting for me as well. It would be something I would be very excited about.”

Topuria then admitted that he feels like Gaethje has an uphill battle ahead of him.

“I don’t know how capable he would be of ruining UFC and Paddy Pimblett’s plans,” Topuria said. “It will be quite difficult. Not impossible, so I wish him the best of luck, but I don’t know if he will be that lucky.”

In June, “El Matador” captured the UFC Lightweight Championship by knocking out Charles Oliveira. It is expected that he will not play again for the time being, because he is on a break due to personal circumstances.

Topuria has feuded with Pimblett over the years, and it’s no secret that a fight between the two would be quite lucrative. Many agree that if Gaethje picks up the victory over ‘The Baddy’ he would be a real underdog against Topuria, but only time will tell what will happen in the end.