Ali Abdelaziz, the CEO of Dominance MMA, gave an update on Gaethje's status during a recent interview on Submission Radio. The Egyptian said that the former interim UFC lightweight champion and BMF titleholder is "sticking to his guns," even if nothing has been resolved. Abdelaziz believes he is justified to do this and should get the first chance at Topuria. And even though the Spaniard knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Oliveira in a row, he feels Gaethje is "too dangerous" for Topuria to fight. Abdelaziz stated, "It's a car wreck (fight). "Whoever gets there first will go to sleep. In my opinion, Abdelaziz went on, "I think Topuria might try to wrestle Justin too." "I think it's very risky to just stand in front of Justin Gaethje and fire blows. "Justin is a very strong striker, and that makes him very dangerous." Honestly, it's one of the best battles you can have in the UFC. For now, any discussion about Topuria and Gaethje fighting next is just that: talk. The recent news makes it clear that it won't happen this year. After news that Topuria's manager had hinted at the Gaethje bout and Renato Moicano had said that it might happen at UFC 322 in November, Spanish journalist Alvaro Colmenero used social media to clear up the situation for both "El Matador" and another fighter from Spain, Joel Alvarez. Colmenero commented on X, "A lot of you have written to me asking if it's true that Joel Alvarez was fighting in Paris and Ilia Topuria in New York." "As far as I know, the answer is NO." He went on to say, "I hope Joel can fight in October or November and Topuria in January or February." That seemed to be true when Topuria wasn't there for the announcement of UFC 322's championship double header, which would feature Islam Makhachev's title challenge versus Jack Della Maddalena in the main event.