Dana White confirms Ilia Topuria is ready to fight

White names Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett as options

UFC President Dana White has stated that Ilia Topuria is once again fully ready to step into the ring. After his tough loss to Justin Gaethje, questions arose as to whether Ilia Topuria would ever return at all. It was the first loss of his career, and it had immediate, serious consequences. He broke his nose and suffered severe facial fractures. At the same time, he lost his UFC lightweight title. Since then, it has been unclear whether he would ever return, and the first update from him came just about five days ago. In that update, he announced that he would definitely be returning and that there was no doubt about it. However, it wasn’t yet clear whether he was actually ready to fight again. Fortunately, Dana confirmed that yesterday. He said:

“Our guys are always in touch with him [Ilia Topuria]. We don’t have him on the schedule right now, but Topuria is ready to fight. We are ready for him“

White then also responded to questions about who Ilia Topuria should face first. The names Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje came up. He said:

“They are both great fights. Obviously the rematch with Gaethje is incredible. A Paddy Pimblett fight is amazing“

We know why a rematch against Justin Gaethje could have problematic consequences. However, Dana White doesn't seem to be ruling out this option entirely. Ultimately, they have to decide who the former champion should face. What do you think, who should he face?