Din Thomas knows the odds are against Justin Gaethje dethroning Ilia Topuria.
Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) claimed the interim lightweight title by defeating Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324. The win set him up for a title-unification bout against UFC lightweight champion Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC).
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Thomas touts Topuria as the best striker Gaethje will face, but “The Highlight” is no stranger to coming up big as an underdog.
“It’s going to be tough just stylistically,” Thomas told MMA Junkie. “Stylistically, it doesn’t bode well for Justin Gaethje. I mean, Justin Gaethje has always had a little trouble with better punchers, better boxers. Historically, if you look at his career, Eddie Alvarez outboxed him. Dustin Poirier, the first time, he outboxed him, and Ilia is the cleanest boxer of all of them.
“Justin is not younger than he was before. It’ll be tough for him, but we’ve seen stranger things happen in this game. It’s an uphill battle for Justin Gaethje to beat Ilia Topuria. I’m not going to put him in the grave as of yet, but I’m sure that the betting lines are going to be very skewed one way.”
Topuria has ripped through recent opposition with knockouts of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, BMF champ Max Holloway, and most recently former champ Charles Oliveira.
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To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Din Thomas won’t entirely write off Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria
