Ilia Topuria teased US president Donald Trump on Wednesday, as the UFC champion and fellow athletes from the upcoming White House fight card visited the Oval Office.
On 14 June, the UFC will stage an unprecedented event at the White House, as lightweight king Topuria headlines against Justin Gaethje after Alex Pereira fights Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight belt.
Ahead of that celebration of 250 years of the United States, which coincides with Mr Trump’s 80th birthday, the afore-mentioned fighters faced off on the South Lawn and entered the Oval Office.
“A friend of mine, Justin Gaethje, he loves his country so much,” Mr Trump said, before Topuria asked the president: “Why did you want to give the toughest test to a friend of yours? You said he’s a friend of yours; why did you want to give him the hardest test?”
“Because he knows that’s what I want,” Gaethje cut in, before Mr Trump replied: “I do want to give the hardest test, is right, we’re gonna give the hardest test.
“And actually, each one of you are fighting your hardest test, I think, right? How do you think you’ll do? You know your opponent very well, [he’s] very tough.”
“I know, a very tough opponent,” said Topuria. “[I feel] very good. I have complete faith. It’s gonna make an amazing fight.”
In another exchange, Topuria said of the president’s personality, “I never thought you would be so kind!”, to which Mr Trump said: “Well, I have a false image.”
Topuria, who is of Georgian-Spanish heritage, is unbeaten and a two-weight UFC champion. Meanwhile, American Gaethje is currently in his second reign as interim lightweight champion, and against Topuria he will seek to win the undisputed belt at the third time of asking.
The co-main event between Pereira and Gane is the only bout on 14 June not to feature an American fighter; Pereira is Brazilian, while Gane is French.
Elsewhere on the card, American Sean O’Malley will fight Canada’s Aiemann Zahabi; US lightweight Michael Chandler faces Brazil’s Mauricio Ruffy; and American Steve Garcia takes on Brazilian Diego Lopes. Furthermore, there will be two all-American fights: Kyle Daukaus vs Bo Nickal and Josh Hokit vs Derrick Lewis.
Lewis vs Hokit was actually announced during UFC 327 in Miami in April, after a request from Mr Trump, who was watching from cageside with his close friend Dana White, the UFC’s president and CEO. Heavyweight Hokit won an instant classic against Curtis Blaydes, and before the night was up he was paired with Lewis – one of Mr Trump’s favourite fighters – for 14 June.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting in the Oval Office, Mr Trump talked up the chances of a deal to end the USA’s ongoing war with Iran. He asked Gaethje, “You would call that, ‘We’re in good shape,’ right?”, to which Gaethje replied: “Fantastic shape.”
Mr Trump also waxed lyrical about UFC fighters in general, saying: “You know, they’re proud. Like, like, these guys are proud. Nobody [is] more proud than these guys. Sometimes they fight on pride because, you know, they’re injured, they’re hurt.
“No matter how great you are, you get hit by somebody else that looks like them, it’s very tough. But they have great pride, these people have great pride. The others do, too; enemies have great pride.”
