Justin Gaethje disobeyed his own rule immediately after beating Ilia Topuria on the White House

Justin Gaethje capped off his huge win with a celebration that he said he wouldn’t do.

Following his two title fight victories in 2026, Gaethje has been nominated for best fighter on the upcoming ESPY Awards.

The American’s upset win to finally turn out to be an undisputed champion on the White House lawn couldn’t have been scripted any higher for him.

While Gaethje was capable of avoid facial damage within the fight, everyone watching likely winced when seeing how he celebrated contained in the Octagon.

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Justin Gaethje said before UFC Freedom 250 that he wouldn’t backflip off the cage after the third round

Justin Gaethje believes the UFC should compensate him for what he’s already done contained in the Octagon quite than what he’s going to do as champion.

It’s hard to argue that he’s not essentially the most exciting fighter within the history of the promotion, and he has the proper celebration to go together with his high octane style.

Gaethje capped off his stunning title win on the White House by backflipping off of the cage in a move that would have resulted in disaster when he fell backwards onto his neck.

“You said you’d never do it after the third round,” his coach Trevor Wittman recalled on the ONX Sports podcast. “I’m so glad you probably did it after the third round cuz you said you’d never do it after the third round. That moment with the White House within the background, rattling.”

When the danger of this maneuver was highlighted, Gaethje clarified why this hasn’t gone well for him previously.

It took him several attempts to execute this celebration when he made his UFC debut against Michael Johnson back in 2017.

Gaethje explained that this fight going down on the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption meant that there was extra padding across the top of the cage that stopped him from getting his grip.