Malki Kawa answered Ali Abdelaziz with a defense of Ilia Topuria that covered two different fights: a possible meeting with Usman Nurmagomedov and a rematch with UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.
Abdelaziz started the exchange on August 2 by predicting that Nurmagomedov would stop Topuria inside four rounds. His post also pointed back to Gaethje handing Topuria the first loss of his professional career.
Kawa Rejects Abdelaziz’s Entire Pitch
Kawa recorded his answer after seeing Abdelaziz discuss Nurmagomedov with his clients. He opened by identifying the conversation he was answering.
All right, so now back to the MMA stuff, right? If you see my last post, you got this guy. He’s sitting there with two of his clients, right? And one of them happens to be Usman, and they’re sitting here talking about his next opponent, and then, ‘Oh yeah, he will beat this guy. He will beat that guy. He will do this and he will do that.’
He did not limit the response to one matchup.
Guys, shut the fuck up. Ilia Topuria will fucking annihilate 100% of your roster.
He then went directly to the result that gave Abdelaziz ammunition.
Including, if we fought Gaethje again, buddy, he will fucking beat the shit out of him. We all know that Ilia was better. He had a bad night. Your boy did good. Congratulations.
The complete response video is below.
Stop hyping up the other shit. You sound like a fucking clown.
Ilia Topuria is still, in my book, the number one fighter in the world. I promise you guys, I promise you guys, when the comeback comes, you will see what happens.
Paddy Pimblett, fucking Islam, Usman, fucking Gaethje. It doesn’t matter who, doesn’t matter when, okay? You guys will see a fucking masterclass. That’s what that is.
The Gaethje Result Sits Behind The Argument
Gaethje stopped Topuria by TKO when Topuria’s corner ended their UFC Freedom 250 title fight after Round 4 on June 14, 2026. The official time was 5:00 of the fourth round. The loss moved Topuria to 17-1, while Gaethje improved to 28-5 and won the undisputed UFC lightweight championship.
Topuria had entered the White House main event unbeaten after winning UFC titles at featherweight and lightweight. His run included knockout victories over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Gaethje survived Topuria’s early body attack, damaged his right eye and forced the corner stoppage after four rounds. The full Topuria-Gaethje result and round sequence are here.
Kawa called that performance a bad night rather than proof that the matchup permanently favors Gaethje. Abdelaziz has since said Gaethje is likely to wait until 2027 for a massive fight, so no rematch has been announced.
Nurmagomedov Is The Unbooked Part Of The Feud
Nurmagomedov became a free agent after stopping Archie Colgan at 3:42 of Round 1 on July 31. The PFL lightweight champion is 22-0 with one no contest, but he has not been announced as a UFC signing and no Topuria fight is booked.
The matchup already had history before the managers traded claims. Nurmagomedov previously argued that his lightweight resume was stronger than Topuria’s. After the Colgan finish, Demetrious Johnson said the UFC should pay Nurmagomedov whatever it takes to sign him.
Kawa closed by accusing Abdelaziz of promoting the matchup publicly while not wanting it privately.
But to sit here as an agent on the podcast of your clients and be like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re gonna actually lose to this guy,’ because behind the scenes, you don’t want that fight.
