Ilia Topuria sparring partner urges him to go lighter ahead of Justin Gaethje clash

One of Ilia Topuria’s training partners had to ask the UFC champion to ease up in sparring this month, as “El Matador” prepares to fight at the White House.

On 14 June, Topuria will defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje, as the pair clash at an unprecedented event in Washington, DC.

And as Topuria prepares for that bout, and aims to stay undefeated as a professional, he has been looking fierce in training – so much so that one of his partners had to ask him to take it a little easier.

Ilia Topuria (left) in sparring ahead of his June clash with Justin Gaethje (Ilia Topuria / YouTube)

In footage shared on Topuria’s YouTube channel, one partner told him at a certain point, “Go a little softer,” to which the Georgian-Spaniard replied, “Yes?”

“Yes,” his partner confirmed, before later saying, “You’re a gazelle,” and: “He’s so heated, he thinks Justin is in front of him.” Another added: “We’re not Justin!”

Topuria later said: “I don’t even notice when I pick up the pace. He kept telling me ‘slow down’, but I swear, I don’t feel it.”

Topuria, 29, is 17-0 as a professional and will enter Washington on the back of an all-time great trio of wins.

he won the featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in early 2024, before doing the same to former champion Max Holloway later in the year. Then, last June, he knocked out former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira to win the belt at 155lb, having vacated the 145lb title earlier in 2025.