There’s been chatter suggesting Justin Gaethje might challenge Ilia Topuria for the UFC lightweight championship sometime in the initial months of 2026, and a training partner of Gaethje’s has provided his viewpoint on these speculations. The individual offering insight is Archie Colgan, who recently added to his unblemished professional MMA record earlier in October.
Colgan, known as ‘King,’ achieved a victory against Jay Jay Wilson at PFL Dubai on October 3rd and discussed several topics on Bowks Talking Bouts following the significant win.
Addressing his relationship with the former BMF titleholder and his opinion on the reports of Gaethje potentially vying for 155-pound gold in 2026, Colgan stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts]
“Yeah, we train together. I just spoke with him yesterday, and there’s nothing; as far as I’m aware, there’s nothing official concerning any of those rumors or reports circulating online. But, yes, I hope it’s true because, naturally, you’d want your teammate to have another opportunity at a title.”
“So hopefully it all proves correct and something positive materializes from it, perhaps around early January or February, they finalize a bout between him and Ilia. That would be awesome. It would be an excellent contest.”
When mentioning how great it would be for both himself and Gaethje to secure PFL and UFC title opportunities, respectively, Colgan responded [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, one after the other. We’ll both bring the titles back to the gym, celebrate together. Man, what an accomplishment for the team, right?”
Justin Gaethje might also be inactive for nearly a year and a half
Justin Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev in March at UFC 313, and with a stated aspiration to compete against Ilia Topuria on the June 2026 White House fight card, Gaethje also seems prepared to remain inactive for a considerable period. The former UFC interim lightweight champion used his personal X platform to outline his preferred next move in mixed martial arts, as Gaethje expressed [via Bloody Elbow],
“For my next fight, I intend to compete whenever Ilia Topuria is competing. I was hoping they would allow me to face him in January, but I don’t really foresee that happening now. The biggest unknown is when Ilia will fight next. I don’t know the answer to that, and I don’t think anyone except him and his team know the answer to that. The best outcome now is for them to simply include us on the White House card.”
The 15-month period of inactivity would be calculated from the Fiziev rematch in March if Gaethje does, indeed, realize his ambition of an Ilia Topuria fight in June of the following year.
