Ilia Topuria has addressed his unexpected defeat at Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250.
Topuria congratulated opponent Justin Gaethje, while also putting the American on notice that he’s coming back for the belt in his first comments since failing to defend the lightweight title in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.
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Topuria, who took a lot of damage during the fight, revealed he had lost sight in both eyes during the bout. He didn’t specify the extent.
“Justin, congratulations,” Topuria posted on Instagram. “You said you’d leave your mark on my face… and you did. You took the sight from my right eye in the first round, and by the end of the second, from my left too. No excuses. I had one of the best camps of my life. I came in sharp, prepared, and ready. Last night was your night. That’s the nature of this game. Glory and pain walk side by side. I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous. And trust me… this story between us is far from over. We will have our rematch.”
Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) met in a UFC lightweight title unification bout, as Gaethje had won the interim belt in January after Topuria wasn’t available to defend his belt due to a then-on-going divorce.
Despite being a big favorite to win the bout, Topuria was badly beaten by Gaethje in a back-and-forth fight. Due to the damage absorbed, Topuria’s corner stopped the fight at the end of Round 4. The fight was almost stopped at the end of Round 3, as Topuria claimed he couldn’t see. The doctor officiating the bout recommended referee Marc Goddard to spot the fight, but Topuria protested and walked back his comments. A quick, fighter standard vision check was performed by the doctor, and the fight was allowed to continue.
With this defeat, not only did Topuria lose his UFC lightweight title, but also his unbeaten record. Entering UFC Freedom 250, Topuria was regarded by many as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA today. Topuria’s historic run of consecutive knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira had bolstered him into stardom and beinga big favorite against Gaethje.
