Topuria, the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight king
Ilia
Topuria, knows exactly what Justin
Gaethje will bring to the table.
Undefeated wrecking machine Ilia (17-0), 29, is scheduled to defend
his UFC 155-pound title against interim beltholder Gaethje (27-5)
at the
UFC White House card on June 14. Aleksandre, who has always
been a vital part of Ilia’s camp, recently joined him in Miami for
the next phase of his brother’s training.
In a thorough video on Ilia’s YouTube
channel, the elder brother—by a year—Aleksandre broke down
Gaethje’s style and approach. According to the bantamweight who is
now 2-0 in the UFC, Gaethje can become predictable and also leaves
himself open when engaging. The specific methods of Gaethje’s
offense were also analyzed by the fighter, who remarked that
Gaethje tends to load up and give foes opportunities to beat him to
the punch.
“Justin Gaethje picks his shots when you stand in front of him,”
the 30-year-old noted. “He’s very fragile when he hits, but it’s a
double-edged sword to choose to hit him when he’s hitting. So,
you’ve got to be very selective with your shots. When he hits is
when he’s very vulnerable to shots, because he doesn’t know how to
hit clean. He doesn’t hit clean like you. He hits with everything.
That’s where he is vulnerable. But exactly that’s where you have to
be careful, if you choose to hit him when he is open… That’s why
it’s super important to be selective with the shots when you hit,
before hitting, think and stay protected.”