Ilia Topuria: 'The first fight they offered me was Islam Makhachev'

Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria headlines the UFC Freedom 250 fight card at the White House in a title unification bout against two-time interim titleholder Justin Gaethje.

In the co-main event, former two-division champion Alex Pereira has the opportunity to become the first fighter to ever win championships in three different UFC divisions when he takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight tittle. Topuria, also a two-division champion, was supposed to have the opportunity becoming a three-division too, but things changed the night before the fight card was announced.

"It was about to happen. Because before I got the confirmation to fight against Justin, I was supposed to fight against Islam [Makhachev]," Topuria told One On One.

Makhachev, another two-division UFC champion, currently holds the 170-pound championship. He's ranked as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Topuria is ranked No. 2. It's a fight Topuria has been chasing since relinquishing his featherweight championship last June to move up to the lightweight division.

"Dana [White] said he was about to make the announcements for the White House card. So, and myself, from the call that I get from the UFC, I knew that I was fighting Islam because the first fight they offered me, it was against Islam," Topuria said.

"I went to sleep and in the middle of the night I get like 100 calls from the UFC like, 'Listen, he's injured and you're going to face Justin Gaethje.' So, hours before the announcement of the card, I was supposed to fight against Islam. That fight was this close to happen."