Ilia Topuria suffered a crushing loss at the hands of Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in Washington D.C. on Sunday night.
Topuria took an unbelievable amount of damage throughout the fight, especially to the face, and his corner ultimately threw in the towel between the fourth and fifth rounds as it was decided that Topuria simply couldn’t take any more damage.
Ilia Topuria wants rematch with Justin Gaethje after loss at UFC Freedom 250
As a result, Topuria lost the undisputed Lightweight Championship to Gaethje and his legacy and reputation also took a major hit.
Topuria was transported to the hospital immediately after the fight, so he didn’t speak to media members at the time, but he broke his silence via social media the next day.
In an Instagram post, Topuria made no excuses for the loss. He congratulated Gaethje on his victory and vowed to come back better… after healing.
“Justin, congratulations. You said you’d leave your mark on my face … and you did. You took the sight from my right 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,” Topuria wrote.
“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.”
In his post Topuria also called for a rematch with Gaethje.
“And trust me … this story between us is far from over. We will have our rematch.”
It remains to be seen if Topuria will get that rematch, as Gaethje implied that he isn’t interested in running it back.
“I would say definitely not a rematch, I mean, I made him quit on the stool, I was winning three rounds to one, in any election that’s a domination,” Gaethje said after the fight.
“I don’t wanna say anything bad about this guy, he was a world champion but he is in the hospital right now, and I’m not.”
Gaethje also didn’t rule out retiring from the spot after the biggest victory of his career. So, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for both fighters.
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