Ilia
Topuria has nothing but praise for Justin
Gaethje after suffering his first career defeat.
“El Matador” relinquished the lightweight crown to Gaethje in the
UFC White House headliner on Sunday night, falling to his
American adversary via fourth-round technical knockout when his
corner waved off the fight. After looking nearly invincible for the
majority of his professional tenure, Topuria was bloodied and
battered by one of the sport’s most respected veterans.
The Georgian-Spaniard acknowledged as much in a post on
Instagram.
“Justin, congratulations. You said you’d leave your mark on my
face… and you did,” Topuria wrote. “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.”
Another Chapter Yet to Come?
Topuria emerged as one of the
UFC’s biggest stars during a run that saw him win his first
nine promotional outings. During that run, he captured both
featherweight and lightweight gold — finishing Alexander
Volkanovski, Max
Holloway and Charles
Oliveira in his last three bouts prior to Sunday night. A
victory over Gaethje might have sent Topuria to the welterweight
division in pursuit of a third belt and a matchup with Islam
Makhachev. Instead, “El Matador” appears to be targeting a
rematch with Gaethje down the road.
“I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far
more dangerous,” Topuria wrote. “And trust me… this story between
us is far from over. We will have our rematch.”