Justin Gaethje doesn’t think Ilia Topuria will ever be the same
after their UFC White House fight. | Getty/UFC
Justin
Gaethje doesn’t sound like he’s ready to call it a career.
But when he is ready to return to the Octagon, it likely won’t be
against Ilia
Topuria — at least not until “El Matador” picks up another
victory.
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“Right now I’m planning on [continuing],” Gaethje said recently on
”The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast podcast. “There’s
not something natural in me that feels like it’s over. I can’t say
that I have a name. [Ilia] doesn’t get a rematch. He can try but he
doesn’t get one. He quit on the stool, I stopped him twice, what
else do I have to f—ing do?
“His next challenge can’t be me. He needs to fight Paddy [Pimblett] or someone like that.”
Gaethje entered
UFC White House as a significant underdog against Topuria, the
undisputed lightweight champion. While Topuria enjoyed a strong
second round, the rest of the bout belonged to Gaethje, who
battered the previously undefeated star until his corner called off
the fight after four rounds.
Lost Aura?
Gaethje compared the performance to his UFC 249 victory over
Tony
Ferguson. Not only did “The Highlight” claim interim
lightweight gold with that victory, but he ended Ferguson’s 12-bout
promotional winning streak in the process. “El Cucuy” was never the
same after that, and he exited the
UFC on an eight-fight skid. Gaethje doesn’t see Topuria
returning to his previous form after taking a serious beating in
the UFC White House main event. More than that, he believes Topuria
has lost the mystique that he possessed as an unbeaten fighter.
“The odds are f==king great against that right now,” Gaethje said.
“I hope he does [bounce back], and I know he has the skill to be a
champion again. However, same thing with Tony
Ferguson. I didn’t break Tony
Ferguson’s confidence. I changed the perception of his
opponents of him and that is a huge factor when you go in there.
…
“Before this, he was the guy you couldn’t get through, that you
couldn’t push through, that you couldn’t survive with. And once I
showed people that all you’ve got to do is get through that, then
nobody is ever going to go in there thinking he’s unbeatable now.
And that was his identity. That’s going to be such a tough task for
him, to fight people that aren’t scared of him.”