Henry Cejudo believes a potential victory by Justin Gaethje over Ilia Topuria would rank as a bigger upset than Sean Strickland’s title-winning performance against Israel Adesanya in 2023.
Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC), the interim lightweight titleholder, is lined up to challenge undisputed 155-pound champion Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in the main event of Freedom Fights 250 at the White House on June 14. Heading into the bout, Gaethje is widely viewed as a significant underdog against the undefeated Spanish Georgian.
Topuria’s rise has been marked by dominance across multiple facets of the sport, positioning him as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Cejudo pointed to that well-rounded skill set as a key factor in evaluating the magnitude of a possible upset.
Meanwhile, Adesanya (24-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC), once one of the UFC’s most dominant champions, has struggled in recent outings. His current four-fight skid began with his title loss to Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC) at UFC 293 and most recently included a defeat to Joe Pyfer in the main event at UFC Seattle.
Speaking on the Pound4Pound podcast alongside co-host Kamaru Usman, Cejudo explained why he believes a Gaethje win would surpass Strickland’s upset of Adesanya.
“Ilia right now is the current number two pound-for-pound right now. He's undefeated. If Justin Gaethje is really able to take out a two-division champ that's undefeated, that could potentially even fight for the third (belt). Like, yeah,” Cejudo said.
He continued by emphasizing the stylistic differences between Topuria and Adesanya.
“Not just that, bro, but if we go talent for talent, Ilia Topuria versus Israel Adesanya, if we look at their fight styles. Yeah, Topuria is way more well-rounded than a guy like Israel Adesanya. He brings in the submission games, he brings in the takedown defense, and he brings in the takedowns on top of the power in his damn hands. So yeah, Justin Gaethje defeating Ilia Topuria would be bigger than Sean Strickland defeating Israel Adesanya.”
