A former foe of Justin Gaethje thinks “The Highlight” is very much a live underdog against Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250.

Gaethje and Topuria are scheduled to clash for the undisputed distinction in the lightweight division on June 14. Topuria is the main 155-pound champion, but an interim title was made after he went on a brief hiatus. Gaethje scored a unanimous decision victory over Paddy Pimblett back in January to win the interim UFC Lightweight Championship.

While Topuria is a huge betting favorite going into UFC’s special event on the South Lawn of the White House, Eddie Alvarez warns that Gaethje very much has a chance. Speaking to MMAJunkie, “The Underground King” explained what he thinks “The Highlight” will need to be aware of if he expects to have success.

“Everyone’s writing him off, but I don’t know, man – this could go either way,” Alvarez said. “I saw a clip recently of Ilia’s brother explaining to Ilia how to beat Justin, his tactics of what he would do against a guy like Justin, and it was scary of how spot-on he was. I was like, sh*t man. During my camp, I was trying to formulate a camp for a guy like Justin and how he steps in the pocket and forces you to fight. How do we beat a guy like this? … Justin loses his eyes a little bit, and I don’t like that. In the exchanges you’ll see him look and throw this way. He can’t lose his eyes during this match, because what Ilia does, is Ilia keeps such a beautiful posture that his posture is so beautiful that he’s always ready to strike, and he doesn’t lose his eyes ever.”

Alvarez and Gaethje had a memorable and violent clash back in late 2017. Alvarez ended up scoring a third-round knockout victory over Gaethje. “The Highlight” has gone 8-4 since that fight and has been involved in a slew of memorable moments both in his favor and at his expense.

Do you think Justin Gaethje can pull off a big upset over Ilia Topuria, or will this be another KO win for “El Matador?” Share your opinion in the comments below.