Justin Gaethje used X to mock Ilia Topuria's glove-loading accusation, saying 94 days after UFC Freedom 250 the former champion had produced only a "lame excuse."
The charge stems from Gaethje's fourth-round TKO win over Topuria in June, a title-changing upset that handed Topuria his first loss and left him with facial fractures.
Rematch talk has intensified as Topuria prepares to return and Gaethje has shifted from ruling out a second fight to embracing it as a possible early-2027 title defense.
An immediate sequel could sideline other lightweight contenders, including Arman Tsarukyan, if the UFC decides Gaethje-Topuria 2 is the division's biggest available bout.