Will Ilia Topuria’s Size Matter Against Justin Gaethje?

Ilia Topuria just sent a clear warning shot ahead of the highly anticipated UFC White House event. The undefeated champion shared a series of training photos on Instagram, looking absolutely shredded and physically imposing for this historic card. While his conditioning looks completely flawless, their recent face-offs right in front of the White House made one thing very obvious: Justin Gaethje is significantly bigger.

Size hasn't stopped Topuria before. He already moved up to 155 pounds to brutally knock out Charles Oliveira, and he used his explosive power at featherweight to put away Alexander Volkanovski and a much taller, longer Max Holloway. But while the size debate mostly quieted down after the Oliveira masterpiece, Gaethje is a career-long, bone-crushing lightweight who brings a completely different kind of physical density to the lawn. Will Topuria's flawless technique sleep another giant on this historic night, or will Gaethje’s natural size finally break the champion's perfect record?