He broke his mental and that was like that’s Ilia’s at the hospital 100% probably for the next little while. That was one of the most crazy inspiring performances that I’ve ever seen. >> Did it show on the broadcast Ilia like fainting when they were leaving or not? >> Yeah, he was like resting on his brother’s arms on the way out like he nearly collapsing into him quite badly.
Dude, he’s got a broken orbital. Broken cheekbone. >> confirmed? >> I’m I’m confirming it. I don’t even know >> You’re a doctor. >> Based on the fights I’ve seen and the results that we’ve had back >> And your medical degree? >> Once additional photos started circulating after the night wrapped up, just how much damage Topuria had taken throughout the contest became impossible to ignore.
The obvious swelling across his face, the trauma around his eye, and the reports that followed hinting at possible broken bones quickly sparked real worry across the MMA world. It hit especially hard considering the serious momentum Topuria had been riding heading in, only to walk straight into one of the roughest evenings of his entire career.
All of this echoes something Joe Rogan has hammered home repeatedly across the years whenever the topic turns to top-tier fighters. Supporters tend to lock in purely on records and outcomes, regularly forgetting the enormous physical price these athletes pay to compete at the very peak of the sport. >> I would put Justin Gaethje against Paddy Pimblett.
I think that he he’s going to >> Paddy’s going to beat Justin Gaethje? >> Easy. >> Wow. Really easy? >> Yeah, easy. >> Really easy? >> Yeah. >> Wow. That’s a crazy thing to say because Justin Gaethje’s a animal. >> Yeah, but he doesn’t know how to grapple. And Paddy knows that. >> He’s a Division I wrestler. He knows how to grapple.
You don’t think he knows how to grapple? He just chooses not to. He chooses to stand and fight. >> Did you ever saw him submitting someone? >> I don’t believe he’s ever submitted someone, but I think that’s because he likes to just crush people. He likes to bang it out and fight. >> He likes to fight. What everyone likes is to dominate people and and to win as soon as possible.
If you have the ability to submit someone as soon as you can, you would do it. >> Mhm. I think that’s your mindset. I think Justin Gaethje’s mindset is to be the most violent person alive. >> The thing is, man, don’t think that Justin Gaethje can’t win. Like anybody can lose in an MMA fight. People get hit.
Like in Ilia Topuria, one of his early fights, Herbert caught him with a head kick in the first round. Dustin is always just trying to This is a dangerous He’s a dangerous Anybody. He’s always moving forward trying to smash you. He leg kicks you from inside the clinch. >> You were forgetting KG’s a war hammer, dude. That guy loves battles.
It’s not like this tactical take a chance here, take a chance there. No, everything’s take a chance. It’s like from the very beginning of the fight. The way he fought you like >> Good lord. >> Yeah, he fights like a pitbull. >> Like a pitbull. >> Like a pitbull. >> A fighter’s mind can bounce back from defeat fairly fast, but the bodily damage from an all-out war inside the octagon is a much steeper mountain to climb.
That gap is precisely why the conversation around Topuria centers less on whether he comes back and more on the timing of it. Should those injury reports prove correct, the discussion pivots instantly away from naming his next challenger and toward mapping out a realistic healing schedule. Long before anyone can entertain title bouts, rivalries, or grand comeback narratives, the first order of business is letting his body recover completely after what may well have been one of the most grueling outings of his career.
>> And you know, you gave him all the respect in terms of like his skill set in there, you know, I said probably the second best guy you prepared for outside of Khabib, but now that you’re through Ilia, was he as good as you thought he was? Was he better than you thought he was? Just Can you talk about what you experienced in there with him? >> I mean, he Yeah, he’s very good.
I mean, my liver still hurts right now. Um the body shots were crazy. I mean, he was really, really fast, but you know, um when he didn’t get the finish at the end of the second round, I think it really took took his spirit. And you know, again, I said it in the press conference leading up, I was like, he really backed himself into a corner saying he’s going to be so dominant.
And I said it, when we go to the second round, you’re going to be like, what the When we go to the third round, you’re going to be like, what the You know, that’s that’s what I did to him. >> Did you feel he was broken after he didn’t get that finish? >> I never felt he was broken because he was so dangerous at all at the the whole time, but in the third round when I started landing those jabs, when he started finding his back foot, I knew something was different.
>> I mean, it was fight of the night, but you know, fight of the year, fight of the whatever, it’s one of the greatest fights you’ll ever see. It was incredible. And especially when you got a guy, I don’t know where it ended up at 6, 7, 8 to 1 underdog and then comes in and does what he did tonight.
And then Ilia, I mean, the body shots that Ilia hit Gaethje with in in that round. And then Gaethje gets through it. Gaethje’s about to get into, you know, an armbar. He was he almost got into a triangle. I mean, just every you saw everything IN THAT FIGHT. >> WOW, THAT GUY’S CRAZY. >> >> Look at that dude.
>> Justin Gaethje, the biggest underdog on the card, Ilia Topuria, the new sensation and the new superstar of the sport, just got pieced up, demolished, and stopped by the doctor at the end of round four. Justin Gaethje, the highlights, gets it done at the White House, does the backflip off the >> What a moment.
Within the MMA landscape, this whole scenario has split the chatter into two separate threads. The first revolves around Justin Gaethje, with a large number of fighters and pundits applauding his standout showing, in which he methodically dismantled one of the sport’s marquee names and dragged Ilia Topuria into a steadily tougher contest.
The second thread is all about Topuria, not because his value has dropped, but because supporters are genuinely curious to witness how he bounces back from this stumble. Throughout the history of combat sports, plenty of stars have actually grown more popular after tasting defeat, especially when they show grit and command respect while staring down hardship.
The UFC has always gravitated towards stories of struggle, since they give audiences something emotional to latch onto. And watching how Topuria’s path develops should be fascinating. >> I always tell people that losing is not the end. Losing is a lesson. Tonight I learned a very hard lesson. >> He knew what was going to happen to him. Walking forward with their hands down on the open and belly, you’re going to get walloped.
>> People saying that he reminds us of you and all that stuff. >> No way. Does he? He has the same tattoos. He says the same stuff. >> Run in front of you. Do something about it. >> He does the same movements. He was going to scream ON THE THING. I WISH HIM WELL. HE’S ALL RIGHT. I like him. Maybe.
>> This might be 2-2. This poor is on the comeback. What’s that? 2-2, I’d say. First two is to Topuria. Next two is to Gaethje. >> He’s about to mention his face being beaten to >> Oh, they’re stopping it. Oh, they stopped it. Wow. >> Oh. There we go. >> The big back flip’s coming. He knows it. >> Too tired for that. No, he’s done it.
>> He’s done it. >> Oh, he’s up. >> >> Watch your neck. >> Hey, Justin Gaethje. Well in, lad. Undisputed champion, you deserve it after your career. But now I want that rematch. I am going to finish BSD and I want that rematch with Justin Gaethje for the undisputed title. I told you didn’t I? It was fate.
Justin Gaethje, man, hats off to you. You deserve it for the heavy career you’ve had. You absolutely deserve it, lad. Everyone gave me for getting beat by him. What now? What now, lads? Thought he was finished, thought he was 38, thought he was he was over the hill. And then he just beat you.
Greatest fighter of all time, Ilia Topuria, you gang of gobshite. I went five with him. I took every shot that he threw at me and kept walking forward. This little has just quit after four rounds. That’s what this little has just done. Look at him sat on a stool. I kept walking forward at Gaethje for five rounds and didn’t have an ounce of quit in me cuz I’m a proper fighter.
>> But for that experience and this is just completely next level. >> This is that times a hundred. It was This is the greatest night in the history of combat sports. Greatest night in the history of MMA by far. >> Yeah. >> There’s nothing that’s ever going to top this until the something does. >> I don’t think anything’s ever going to top this, man.
This was >> And when we think about Ilia Topuria, who was ubiquitously regarded with Islam Makhachev as 1A 1A in terms of the pound-for-pound kings, going to be fascinating to watch this mixed martial arts athlete rebuild because that was a destructive loss for him and his legacy. >> Yeah, and who knows what kind of damage he took because we could be looking at broken orbital bones.
>> Orbital Orbital looks The The way he swelled up. >> Yeah. >> I’m no doctor. I know we like to blame doctor at times. We sometimes be saying diagnosis, but his eye, the way it was so black and blue and closed. >> Topuria’s journey back to the summit may now prove every bit as gripping as his original climb to the top.
That dynamic is exactly what makes Joe Rogan’s viewpoint so fitting right now. Rogan has frequently pointed out that a fighter’s truest character surfaces in moments of struggle rather than in triumph alone. Because while winning breeds confidence, spotlight, and momentum, it’s hardship that genuinely exposes who someone really is.
Because of that, fans are now watching Topuria’s every word and move in the days following the fight with close attention. >> Ilia loses to Justin. What did you think of the fight? >> When I When I saw that, I I couldn’t believe it, to be honest. And uh yeah, I was I was happy. >> So, what did you think about how it actually played out? >> He He felt so confident that like I’m going there and knock him out.
He didn’t even use his jab. He was just wanted to throw his the right hand and knock him out right away. But like Justin, he’s a dog, you know, and like he has a good chin. Justin did a good job. >> Seemed like the doctor was calling it off, but then they let it go. What did you think of that? >> They should stop him on the second round because his eye was closed and he couldn’t he couldn’t see.
He wanted to fight, but like his brother said, “No, that’s enough.” >> Do you do you feel like he quit? >> I mean, of course he did. >> I was just honored to be able to be I was I was honored to be the person that he trusted to to to deliver tonight. I hope everybody as an American feels that we did. >> For quick quick one here. >> this you’ve been waiting. Go ahead, bud.
>> Thank you, Dana. A question from Spain. I would like to know if you know something about Ilia Topuria’s health, that he’s going to the hospital, if you know something about him. >> Yeah. >> And if you have any plan for him on the future in the company when he recovers, of course. >> What was the rest of that question? >> After the the health question, any plans for Ilia in the future after tonight? >> Yeah. Yeah, Ilia’s in the hospital.
He’s he’s busted up. Um, you know, I’m not a doctor, but his eye looked like he probably has broken orbital. Um, I don’t know that that that’s not a fact, but I’m just assuming. And my plans for him are to go home and rest and recover and take his time and, you know, tonight was a Tonight was Tonight was a rough night for him.
I just I just I just want to make sure he’s healthy and good and not even thinking about him fighting again. Just want him to go home and relax and rest and heal. >> Let’s be honest, hardly anyone thinks this defeat genuinely shrinks his ability or wipes out everything he’s accomplished inside the cage. What it absolutely does reshape though is the schedule of his career.
Rather than instant conversations about title shots and blockbuster cards, the spotlight now turns toward healing, smart rebuilding, and figuring out the wisest route forward once he’s fit enough to step back in and compete again. >> When you when you take damage like this, you never going to be same. Never ever. >> Mhm.
>> You know, he take too much damage, you know? You see how he tap how he give up end of the five five round. You go like this. >> I don’t often make predictions. I don’t. But I said multiple times sitting in this chair, talking to that camera or to a guest, that I question why the UFC would have an event which was being billed as a celebration of America, and book a main event in which an American was going to be knocked out in the main event. I said it.
And so I have to eat crow. I have to apologize to Justin Gaethje. This is the business that we’re in. You make picks, you pick a side. Justin Gaethje, what he did on Sunday is the highlight of his career, obviously, and apropos given the fact that he is nicknamed The Highlight. A most unlikely career culminates in the most unlikely of venues.
A guy who early in his career was not looked at as a can’t miss prospect, was not someone that we talked about even in world series of fighting. I noted yesterday when I did my wrap up. I remember being at a weigh-in. I think it was in Toronto in 2013, and he he he walks up to me and he says, “Yo, man, can you put this on Twitter? Like say like Justin Gaethje is one of the best lightweights in the world.
Like he needs to get some shine.” He like he can do And I’m like, here we are. He has all these all these bonuses, all these moments, all these victories, and now he’s undisputed champion. Imagine telling someone as he’s getting knocked out by Max Holloway on the grandest of stages, UFC 300, that he would then come back and beat Paddy Pimblett, handing him his first UFC loss, and then beat Ilia Topuria? >> Ilia Topuria fighting on the South Lawn of the White House? The powerful response to these injuries goes well beyond the jarring images on
their own. They land so hard because they act as a blunt reminder of how merciless this sport can be. One evening has the power to completely reroute an entire division. One bout can dismantle carefully laid plans. One performance can push a fighter into retreating a single step before he charges forward, too.
And while Justin Gaethje’s win unquestionably stood out as one of the headline stories from the UFC White House card, the upcoming chapter of Ilia Topuria’s career looks every bit as intriguing. The whole MMA community is now waiting eagerly, not only for the date of his return, but for which version of him walks back into the octagon.
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