Remember the White House fight that fell apart just a day before the card was revealed on the UFC 326 broadcast? The same one Dana White spoke about during a livestream with Nina Drama. Well, as it turns out, it didn’t involve Jon Jones. Instead, the fight was supposed to be between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev. Shocker, right?

“The UFC White House fight that fell through on Friday night was Islam Makhachev vs Ilia Topuria,” Championship Rounds wrote on X, crediting Irati Prat of MMA Marca. “Negotiations for Topuria vs. Makhachev didn’t begin until last week. An agreement was eventually reached, and the fight was going to happen at the White House.

“On Friday night, the UFC was informed that Islam Makhachev would no longer be able to fight at the White House,” they added. “The fight was set to take place at welterweight for the title.”

Now, of course, ‘El Matador’ is set to face Justin Gaethje on the White House card, scheduled for June 14, for the undisputed lightweight title. However, the exact reason the fight didn’t take place has yet to be revealed. Still, when Dana White was asked about the canceled fight during the UFC 326 post-fight press conference, he hinted at something controversial.

“There [are] weird circumstances around it,” White told a reporter. “That we probably shouldn’t talk about.”

In any case, the update about Islam Makhachev being originally considered for the White House card against Topuria appears to align with what Justin Gaethje revealed recently. 

“Two days ago, I got a call, and they said, ‘You are definitely not going to fight at the White House card,’” Gaethje said on Saturday night. “Yesterday, I got a call, they said, ‘You might hear something. You might be on the White House card.’ I was like, how are you gonna take a 180-degree turn on me? And today, I found out that I was on it.”

Regardless, Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria have long shared their intentions to face each other. So, when fans found out about the original plans to match Topuria against Makhachev, they were quick to accuse the Dagestani sambo specialist of ducking the smoke. 

Fans blame Islam Makhachev for the canceled fight against Ilia Topuria

Despite not having a clear picture of the reason behind the cancellation, Islam Makhachev quickly came under fire. One user posted: “No way Islam ducked 😂😂 the jokes write themselves, man.”

It’s worth noting, though, that Makhachev has previously faced visa-related issues. With the fight set to take place at the White House, his Russian origin may also have played a role, though that remains unconfirmed.

The next user also accused Makhachev of ducking: “Yeah, Islam is not beating the duck allegations.” 

Yet, Dana White’s statement hints that there may be a significant reason behind the decision.

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Someone else couldn’t wrap their head around why the fight didn’t happen: “Wtf Islam? Why? Unless he’s injured, there’s literally no other excuse.”

There are some reports that confirm that Makhachev had injured his hand. 

“The only fight that makes sense. Disappointing,” the user commented. Justin Gaethje has largely been dismissed as a serious threat to Topuria, thanks to the latter’s dominant run.

“This whole fight falling through might actually be a geopolitical-related issue rather than ducking,” wrote the fan. Although what those reasons are is anyone’s guess. 

That being said, it appears fans will be starved of the mega fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev for even longer. But the fact that UFC was talking about it suggests that one day it will happen. Do you agree?