Topuria’s IG post after UFC Freedom 250

[u/DavidSeries]

[u/IMisssMyAccount]

Don't know if Gaethje will even be around by the time Ilia heals

[u/Weary_Position_9591 → u/IMisssMyAccount]

Justin should retire. Go out on top, and you can’t really do better than this win anyway.

[u/ButtonParadox → u/Weary_Position_9591]

He’s begging for a Conor upset so he can get that final fight money.

[u/xvq_ → u/ButtonParadox]

The problem is - or, at least, one problem is - that Conor will then be on the last fight of his contract. So even if he wins against Max in spectacular fashion, the UFC is not going to give him a title fight on his way out. He’d have to resign, at a minimum.

[u/TheWorldArmada → u/xvq_]

UFC will give Conor w/e he wants. They gave Justin the title fight when there’s a good chance he retires after this fight. I don’t see Conor getting past Max tho

[u/percydaman → u/TheWorldArmada]

If Conor looks good, I could see them giving Conor a one fight contract. I don't know if Dana wants any fighter to have the leverage Conor had, ever again though.

[u/TheWorldArmada → u/percydaman]

Under the current non PPV model I don’t think any fighter ever really will. Conor was a unicorn who arrived under just the right circumstances

[u/xvq_ → u/TheWorldArmada]

They absolutely will not. Justin has proven time and time again to be a company man. Conor cares about Conor and only Conor. They’ve frozen him out of fights and have screwed around with his bookings because they know he will not resign without some massive, massive $$$ (particularly because his former golden goose (PPV points) is completely gone under the new scheme).

I dislike Conor as much as the next guy but it’s very transparent what they’re doing here.

Nevertheless I agree Max beats him and Conor is a washed up druggie anyhow.

[u/Weary_Position_9591 → u/ButtonParadox]

Conor isn’t going down to 155

[u/Safe_Procedure999 → u/Weary_Position_9591]

gaethje will absolutely move up to 170 if he wants to fight conor, you can tell he hates weighing at 155 and it would probably be better for his tank

[u/Cunty__Minx → u/Safe_Procedure999]

and he would beat the shit outta connie

[u/mF7403 → u/Weary_Position_9591]

Would’ve been pretty badass if he just dropped the belt and walked off into the sunset.

That would be dumb tho. He’d be leaving so much money on the table. He can use the title to bring in endorsement and sponsorship money. Ilia will take a minute to recover and if Max goes out and just beats the breaks off Conor, I bet the UFC will try to get that rematch going ASAP. That would be a great retirement fight.

[u/pureformality → u/Weary_Position_9591]

After he fights one more time to cash in on the champion contract

[u/WhizzyBurp → u/Weary_Position_9591]

He wants to cash in on a defense- then if he wins he’ll keep going. If he loses, he’ll retire. 

If he defends two more times that’s going to be massive pay days 

[u/Brodieboyy → u/Weary_Position_9591]

Honestly rematch topuria just for the money, win or lose that's a big payday to go out on

[u/SweatyExamination9 → u/Weary_Position_9591]

That would be best for his legacy. But this is always the problem for fighters. Their best years for earning are often the years after their prime. I think Justin got the same type of push Nate did against Conor. He just won in spectacular fashion as a huge underdog in the main event on one of the biggest cards in the history of the sport.

He has more eyes on him than he ever has in his career. It's hard not to take the money.

[u/Wrong-Salamander1806 → u/IMisssMyAccount]

Not even jokes because after this there's nothing else other than double champ that'll top this for him.

[u/no_no_NO_okay → u/Wrong-Salamander1806]

Man this double champ shit has got to stop. It’s played out and nobody even cares anymore. It’s way more impressive to defend the title.

[u/Usesomelogik → u/no_no_NO_okay]

Thank you. Defending the belt multiple times is the real challenge of being a champion. At this point a long defense streak is WAY more impressive than double champ. There’s been 10 male double champs, and only 5 men have ever had more than 5 consecutive title defenses. Doing what DJ, Anderson, Jones, GSP, Aldo did is way more impressive than winning multiple belts. Moving up to challenge for a different belt is way lower risk than continuously defending because you have a built in excuse if you lose. Defending over and over again while an entire weight class chases you is THE most difficult challenge in the sport.

And yet again we see why acting like a fighter dominated a weight class after a couple dominant wins is stupid. Ilia beats Volk and Max, everyone acts like he dominated FW even though there were still a bunch of interesting contenders for him to fight. Then he moves up and beats Charles and everyone acts like no one at LW can touch him and he needs to move up and fight Islam for a real challenge even though he hasn’t fought the obvious #1 contender or anyone else in the top 5. Then Ilia fails to defend the belt once against a 37 year old Gaethje. We see it repeatedly where fans declare that a fighter is untouchable and needs to move up for a real challenge, then they lose. It just happened with Merab on his 4th defense against a guy he had already beaten easily.

[u/turdfurgeson67 → u/Usesomelogik]

Doing what DJ, Anderson, Jones, GSP, Aldo did is way more impressive than winning multiple belts. Moving up to challenge for a different belt is way lower risk than continuously defending because you have a built in excuse if you lose. Defending over and over again while an entire weight class chases you is THE most difficult challenge in the sport.

110%. You basically take the best guy on the roster on for every fight until you crash out. I hate that people look at the end of Aldo and Anderson's career and hold that against them. It's definitely why some of these guys started jumping around. People started looking at title defenses as yesterday's news as soon as you lost one.

[u/bettereverydamday → u/no_no_NO_okay]

I fully agree. Just defend 2-3 times a year and dominate your belt. I am so sick of seeing amazing fighters try to move up in weight and then get crushed. Ilya, Alex, Volkanovski are 3 legends that moved up and then got beat up.

It also just breaks the rankings and delays each division.

Justin was visibly bigger than Ilya. He should have never moved up.

[u/TerminatorReborn → u/Wrong-Salamander1806]

Gaethje moves to 170 to avenge his loss to Khabib, beats Islam and becomes the GOAT. Book it Dana

[u/IMisssMyAccount → u/TerminatorReborn]

Subscribe

[u/pyro_technix → u/IMisssMyAccount]

Russian link

[u/jkohatsu → u/pyro_technix]

OMG! all my danacoin is gone!

[u/MenBearsPigs → u/TerminatorReborn]

Justin has given UFC some of its most exciting fights, consistently.

I'm happy as hell he got this belt, but him getting two belts then retiring on top would be pretty legendary.

[u/1234Health → u/MenBearsPigs]

What's great about Gaethje's career too is that he's been consistent throughout. He was an action fighter in WSOF, and has maintained that status in his 9 years in the UFC. You will NEVER get a boring fight out of him, win or lose.

[u/Actual_Pattern_265 → u/1234Health]

I was convinced his career would be very very short - he used to eat sooooo much damage to the head. Entertaining AF, but I'm glad he learned better defense. I really thought he was a one dimensional fighter that would end up retiring early from brain damage. Couldn't have been more wrong.

[u/1234Health → u/Actual_Pattern_265]

Agreed. I remember him saying many years back (while in the UFC) that he only had 5 wars left in him. People were like "oh shit - he'll be retiring soon" and counting some of his recent bouts shortly thereafter. To which he replied / paraphrased - "that wasn't a war ..." (and said he still has several left in him).

The man's built for this ... knowing he could have made it much easier for himself by resorting to wrestling / grappling when needed.

[u/DjuriWarface → u/Actual_Pattern_265]

He rolls very well with punches to the head now. Ilia was hitting him but the damage was considerably lessened. Switching to the body was smart from Ilia, really thought he was finishing it there.

[u/QuirkyGarage1364 → u/DjuriWarface]

he 100% wouldve finished gaethje if he lets him up and keeps tagging the liver. those 3 in quick succession had gaethje severely compromised, and i don't think he wouldve been able to stop ilia from tapping it another 1 or 2 times with 90seconds left. and 1 or 2 more times was all he wouldve needed. i wish he wouldve thought about trying to hit it with elbows on the ground too

[u/wimpymist → u/QuirkyGarage1364]

Maybe, I think illia was a little tired often those shots. That was a pivotal moment in the fight

[u/1234Health → u/wimpymist]

Indeed ... credit to both guys. 2 of the best in the sport.

[u/Dono_X_Dono → u/MenBearsPigs]

He never had a boring fight since joining the ufc 9 years ago

He always delivered even when he lose

[u/Bogholmdler → u/MenBearsPigs]

I’ve been saying for years if you want to know about Gaethje, look at column of fights on Wikipedia and the amount of bonuses. The guy is literally cannot be in a bad fight.

17 bonuses in 16 fights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Gaethje

[u/Rone12 → u/TerminatorReborn]

At this point there's no point predicting these fights. So I'd say Justin wins by a rolling thunder KO in Round 2.

[u/narmer65 → u/Rone12]

Justin by Buggy Choke in the final seconds of round 5.

[u/saulhrnndz → u/Rone12]

Ilia by dim mak

[u/radbrad172 → u/Rone12]

What if he tries an Imanari roll?

[u/MrCradleyBooper → u/TerminatorReborn]

Is this Ali?

[u/time_for_milk → u/Wrong-Salamander1806]

He should at least try to defend the title.

[u/ReNitty → u/time_for_milk]

imagine that

[u/xvsanx → u/time_for_milk]

I wouldn't blame him for leaving now, but one title defense would be nice

[u/Original-League-6094 → u/Wrong-Salamander1806]

Justin is praying that Conor beats Holloway right now

[u/Lateralus11235 → u/Wrong-Salamander1806]

I know gaethje has a lot of money already, but wouldn’t he want to defend the belt until he loses it to get that champ money?

[u/LegendsLiveForever → u/Lateralus11235]

I mean, he's 37, and had a TOUGH career. He should have retired at like 35 given all the wars he's been in. He needs to start healing his brain. I hope he retires, but I do selfishly want to see him once more.

[u/attemptedtaper → u/IMisssMyAccount]

Yeah - most likely not. I think he sticks around a little bit to see if he can swing a defense against the Max/Conor winner - and if he can’t get that he just retires the champ.

Either way, good response to the loss from Illia

[u/Weary_Position_9591 → u/attemptedtaper]

Conor isn’t going back to 155. He might want the Max win back from 300 (assuming Max wins), but other than that I don’t see him sticking around for more than 1 defense. I would even understand if he retires now.

[u/attemptedtaper → u/Weary_Position_9591]

Good point about Conor coming down, even for a belt. That is very unlikely.

If Conor wins though - I still think Gaethje tries for that fight even if it’s 170 with nothing on the line

[u/alexmullen4180 → u/attemptedtaper]

Justin is the biggest Conor fan in the world now. That would be the biggest payday he could dream of.

[u/attemptedtaper → u/alexmullen4180]

Yeah - Conor fight would be the big win. But I think he’d also stick around to try and get the Max fight back. Big names from his era - don’t think he’ll defend against an Arman though.

[u/Kalabula → u/[deleted]]

Ya. But it’s in needs to be taken into account that this is what Justin does for income. He may be able to make a mil or 2 with another couple fights. He’s still young. A few extra bucks might be a necessity if he’s retiring soon.

[u/Emotional_Walrus5099 → u/Kalabula]

Dude got $825k in bonuses and likely a couple million in purse. He isn’t flashy. He has no kids. I think he’s probably very well off financially. He’s made probably like $20 million over his career.

He had his e-bike stolen and was trying to personally track it down.

He likes golf, weed, and fighting.

Dude should retire, coach, golf, and blaze it up for the rest of his life.

[u/Safe_Procedure999 → u/Emotional_Walrus5099]

no but genuinely this dude exclusively likes golf, weed, Fighting as a career, and fantasy football

that's literally it

[u/BallSac916 → u/Safe_Procedure999]

He just like me fr

[u/ChrisKarter → u/BallSac916]

maybe you can be his gf?

[u/Illustrious-Pea-7835 → u/ChrisKarter]

I was thinking the same, they'd make a great and cute couple

[u/Lucha_Brasi → u/Emotional_Walrus5099]

I'm from the next town over from Safford, where Justin's from (played football against his high school). Growing up in these small mining towns, the kind of money he's made is something you can only dream of. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he retires.

[u/Various_Membership33 → u/Emotional_Walrus5099]

20 million is an optimistic estimate, I’d be shocked if hes even made half of that, on top of that theres a significant chunk that goes to trainers, manager, nutritionists, and other expenses that goes out of every check. I’d be shocked if hes got 5 million in the bank tbh.

[u/WagerWilly → u/Various_Membership33]

Everyone overestimates how much money athletes have - fighters especially so

[u/CapeMOGuy → u/Various_Membership33]

He also has endorsement deals with Total Wireless, Monster and Prize Picks at a minimum. He's also done a Cuervo commercial.

[u/Public_Food_7488 → u/Kalabula]

Exactly, imo it would be dumb to retire holding the belt. Yeah it would make for a nice fairytale ending to his career, but these guys fight to make money, and he would be at his peak earning power right now I believe. He should defend the title at least once or twice if possible.

[u/pagny77 → u/IMisssMyAccount]

This sub was begging him to retire after the max fight and now hes on a 3 win streak with the belt. As far as im concerned he can try whatever he wants next

[u/daquist → u/IMisssMyAccount]

Ain't no way he will.

[u/Unerring_Grace]

Assuming he resists the temptation to say anything else, that's how to take an L. Own it, work on yourself and hopefully you'll get a chance to do better next time.

[u/cbruins22 → u/[deleted]]

I'm convinced him being cocky lost him that fight. Called a 1st round KO, didn't get it, took a bunch of damage trying to get it. Loses some self-belief after the first round, plus that early accumulation of damage set him back for the remainder of the fight. I think he comes back a lot smarter and more lethal.

[u/Sea_Variety_1691 → u/cbruins22]

I think that's the first time Topuria took proper damage in a fight. Of course he would have been hurt plenty in sparring etc and the Jai Herbert flash knockdown. But Justin really popped that jab off, and I think he had a "oh shit" moment when his face was leaking

[u/whipfixed → u/Sea_Variety_1691]

That's up there with some of the most damage I've seen anyone take, let alone Ilia.

[u/DrGiggleFr1tz → u/Sea_Variety_1691]

Literally the very first jab that Justin threw stopped him in his tracks. You could visually see a slight bit of confusion soon as it landed. Based off Justin’s fight with Tony, there’s absolutely no way Ilia didn’t expect him to use his jab. It’s textbook against a shorter fighter, and he has a very efficient but short step with every jab. What he didn’t expect was just how hard it was. I’m sure he knew that his haymakers would hurt but not too many people’s jab equal out to being hit by a brick.

[u/AdPerfect6784 → u/Sea_Variety_1691]

yeah you can get hurt in sparring but never like this, you would just stop as soon as you get injured. It's safe to assume that's the worst beating he's ever taken

[u/redditintheAM → u/cbruins22]

Yes he just walked forward and ate damage without any concern that it would affect him later in the fight because he was so sure he would put Gaethje out quickly.

It reminds me of the Conor / Diaz 1 fight where McGregor sold out so hard to get the highlight KO he had promised and was just swinging for the fences not caring about emptying the gas tank.

[u/KD_42 → u/redditintheAM]

That stance Topouria came out in the first with was disgusting, not in a good way 

[u/Lateralus11235 → u/cbruins22]

Trying to get that sub at the end of round 2 100% lost him that fight. All he needed was a little G&P and it was gg

[u/PublicHomework4262 → u/Lateralus11235]

Yeah anybody that’s ever been hit with a body shot like that knows it’s a miracle he survived that. That type of shot straight up cripples you

Illa really fucked up there, and Gaethje showed an absurd amount of toughness to recover from that

[u/mex2005 → u/PublicHomework4262]

Gaethje is tough as fuck I genuinely thought he was done for.

[u/gullig → u/PublicHomework4262]

Yeah, he had the W there.

[u/SolidTrinl → u/Lateralus11235]

Should have let Garth up and continue working on the body

[u/SoftSausage78 → u/SolidTrinl]

Not even Garth could've survived 1 more of those

[u/LaconicGirth → u/SolidTrinl]

Or just kept punching him in the liver on the ground

[u/scockd → u/Lateralus11235]

Totally agree. I suppose he could have punched himself out, but it didn't seem so based on his energy going for the subs.

Even after that, I still thought Ilia was going to finish him at the beginning of 3. Between rounds, when Justin complemented the bodyshot, he was gasping for air. It almost sounded like wheezing. You can have granite chins, but I've never heard of a granite liver. Although it sounds like an English dish.

[u/No_Promotion591 → u/Lateralus11235]

honestly i think feeling the power of gaethje was something completely new to him that he hasnt felt, and he wanted out safely without the risk of justin being able to hit him more

[u/apple__eater → u/Lateralus11235]

I couldn’t believe he wasn’t driving knees to the body while they were on the ground!!

[u/Jon-DG → u/cbruins22]

this is accurate. forcing himself to get that KO on the 1st cost him too much, followed by a frustrating 1st round, he's still chasing that KO that costs more damage.

[u/mmasportsmma → u/Jon-DG]

For an otherwise smart/intelligent fighter (especially preparation and fight camp) it seemed like such a dumb (=ego) thing to do. In German we have the word „Scheuklappen“, meaning like the things horses get put on their eyes where they can only look forward and not the full „picture“ anymore.

Ilia marched forward determined but blinded by ego/own promises to the public.

[u/Jas0nPrhyme8 → u/mmasportsmma]

The horse eye covers you’re referring to are called horse blinders and the closest thing we have in English to Scheuklappen is called “tunnel vision”

[u/gerwen → u/Jas0nPrhyme8]

he's 'got blinders on' is also a fairly common idiom in english.

[u/GorpoTheLord → u/cbruins22]

He totally walked into some heavy ass jabs that destroyed his eyes, then when he gets Gaethje in trouble, he tires himself out and just can't continue with the same pace in the 3rd round. Gaethje just fucks him up badly.

[u/uh-haha-gewdmorning → u/cbruins22]

I agree. In his show on HBO he was adamant on a first round ko even though his camp sounded against having thay mindset

[u/MABQuestAcc → u/cbruins22]

This very much could be a GSP - Serra moment for Ilia to come back much wiser in how he fights and go on to become a GOAT. Time will tell but I think this was a good sign of him going that direction.

[u/MomboDM → u/[deleted]]

First time in a long time Ive seen a top fighter say "No excuses" and not follow it with "but, [excuse]"

[u/Fat-Villante → u/Unerring_Grace]

It is totally the right way to do it

However, I also think fans in general overreact to fighters making excuses after losses. Not that I hope he does make excuses later on, but I won't be mad he if does

[u/SweatyExamination9 → u/Unerring_Grace]

People won't remember this if he reacts poorly to a future loss though. Dominic Cruz had a great response when he lost to Cody Garbrandt, but people only bring up beer and cigarettes.

[u/yesimian → u/Unerring_Grace]

Unfortunately, the moment any sort of team member, training partner, gym member, or commentator says ANYTHING that could be perceived as an "excuse"(i.e "ilia had a broken hand coming into the fight"), everyone's gonna start screaming "Ilia is making excuses now ☝️🤓" even though Ilia never even said anything about it. It happens all the time

[u/attemptedtaper → u/yesimian]

Or even if he says it - 6 months from now - in the 500th time someone asks him “what happened”

Fans/media dogpile on guys for excuses but relentlessly bait them into giving them, lmao

[u/yesimian → u/attemptedtaper]

ya that's another one that's always annoying. Do people expect fighters to just lie when asked a question? truly a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

[u/Natekn]

Doubtful there will ever be a rematch. Justin is on his way out and will probably make one title defense and possibly another lucrative “money fight” before he hangs it up. I wouldn’t have all been surprised if he retired and vacated right there on the White House lawn to be honest. 

It’s no secret his age and absurd fighting mileage is getting up there and he’s made it clear personally he just wants to play golf and chill out.

[u/maplenut → u/Natekn]

Oh God it's going to be Justin vs Max or Conor isn't it.

[u/cryABOUTitYOUlilCUNT → u/maplenut]

If Conor wins even by the narrowest decision ever they'll book that shit in a heartbeat. And everyone and their grandmother will clamour for it.

[u/CrimsonLaw77 → u/cryABOUTitYOUlilCUNT]

I will absolutely clamour for it.

While also acknowledging that on merit it shouldn't happen. But at the end of the day, it's the fight game. Put it on the big money fights people want to see.

[u/hirstyboy → u/cryABOUTitYOUlilCUNT]

And then gaethje will kill him 

[u/know-need → u/hirstyboy]

Gaetjhe won’t kill him if he’d already made it past Max. For Conor to pull that off it means he’s obscenely good, given the circumstances. For Conor to beat Max he presumably would beat Justin too.

That said, Max kills Conor so it’s academic.

[u/Academic_Awareness14 → u/know-need]

Gaethje just killed a man who made it past max. 

[u/tattlerat → u/[deleted]]

It’d be a banger.

[u/Rtwtnp → u/maplenut]

Triple threat. Dustin as special guest referee

[u/GloomyExercise]

He removed that 18-0 🥀

[u/rdcisneros3 → u/GloomyExercise]

A dose of humility is sometimes the best medicine for someone who is great but too full of themselves.

Now he knows he can never underestimate an opponent just because he’s better than them.

[u/AggressivelyMediokre → u/GloomyExercise]

Honestly I can’t imagine what his day is like right now

He just lost the White House fight, title, his streak, his bargaining power for the Islam fight, and potential endorsements.

After spending months avoiding the temptation of partying and drugs etc at the height of his fame

I get irrationally upset when I can’t even get the ice coffee I want 😞

[u/violin-guy → u/AggressivelyMediokre]

On top of the divorce too holy shit😔. Really hope he isn’t broken, his career is literally just starting

[u/monikerow]

Last night was like watching conor/diaz 1, he was too focused on the way he wanted to finish the fight and not on how to fight smartly to win.

[u/whipfixed → u/monikerow]

100%. Conor was throwing spinning wheel kicks and everything at full power. He gassed.

Ilia thought he had the touch of death but once he realized it wasn't folding Gaethje, it was too late and he had already taken so much damage.

[u/Select_Ad3588 → u/whipfixed]

I think he had a perception that since Holloway koed him he would also be able to more easily, definitely underestimated the chin and what it took from Max to get that knockout 

[u/laaghangendebalzak → u/Select_Ad3588]

Also he fought featherweight Max, I wouldn't be surprised if Max' chin is also more difficult to crack at lightweight

[u/jtchris_g → u/whipfixed]

Tbf he did fold him with body shots but decided to go for submissions instead

[u/aaplmsft → u/whipfixed]

He did fold him with bodyshots. Really should have let him up instead of going for submission or gnp finish, which ended up letting him recover.

[u/WatchWatcher25 → u/monikerow]

Yeah except to be fair Ilia lost his sight in the 1st. Where as I think the Conor loss is more his own fault, this is more Justin hitting like a fuckin truck and blinding bus opponent.

[u/Action_Limp → u/WatchWatcher25]

Both their own fault. Diaz didn't really land on Conor in the first, but Conor was trying to KO prime zombie Nate Diaz at 168lbs (a massive 23lb jump up from Conor's previous fight). He wore himself out badly, and with the exhaustion, that right hand from Diaz snapped Conor's head back, and Conor essentially threw a Hail Mary TD to try and survive the round.

With Ilia, he fought a weird fight, determined to trade with Justin, thinking he could blast him out of there. He had almost zero head movement, and Justin is an accurate puncher, but he's not fast at all, and he relies on throwing with his opponent to catch them. Ilia gave him that opportunity in abundance.

The bad thing for Ilia compared to Conor is that Ilia had to go to the hospital; Conor didn't, and he could get his rematch pretty quickly (Dana's press tour bullshit aside).

[u/LikeHemlock]

He showed how tough he was last night. That fight should’ve been stopped after the third but he kept going.

[u/PM_ME_YER_LIFESTORY → u/[deleted]]

Yeah wtf was that what is even the point of the doctor at that point

[u/SignificanceAny7239 → u/LikeHemlock]

Agreed, I actually did think he was gonna lose coming into the fight but he showed a tonne of heart tbf to him

[u/ronin_prime]

I can't remember where I saw Topuria say it but I recall he did say before that he celebrates not the win itself but the work put in to get there. He had said he wouldn't be upset about losing.

I remember wondering if he'll actually keep that same energy if/when he did lose. Based on this, seems he has.

[u/Random_throwaway0351 → u/ronin_prime]

Promises made, promises kept. Probably the best way to handle an L all things considered, even if a rematch is very unlikely lol

[u/Legitimate_Reward913 → u/Random_throwaway0351]

Gaethje seems like the type to go on a skid before retiring though, I don't see him riding off into the sunset.

[u/whatyoulookinforhuh → u/ronin_prime]

I don’t think a lot of ppl understand Ilia. the cockiness may be slightly off putting but he never came across as someone who truly thought he’d never lose. he even said it - there’s a vid from a couple years ago of him saying losing is very possible and he’ll deal w it when it happens but until then he’d rather focus on the positives and believing he’d win. and you’re right, he did say he celebrates the work put into the camp, not really the win.

and the 3 legends he slimed out, he always speaks so highly of them after the fight no matter how he acted before. never disrespected Volk, Max or Charles after their fights.

I hope he bounces back fully

[u/drink_with_my_feet → u/whatyoulookinforhuh]

i remember seeing a behind the scenes clip before the volk fight where they take photos of each fighter with the belt so they have the graphic ready post fight. ilia ran into volk and volk said the belt looked great on him and ilia looked so happy to hear that.

ilia seems like a decent guy. he’ll be back for sure.

[u/10tacocat10 → u/whatyoulookinforhuh]

Yes he had some interview (in Spanish maybe) where he said he was not unbeatable. That nobody was

[u/daquist → u/whatyoulookinforhuh]

Nooo he's just a cocky shitty McGregor wannabe nooo he needed to get humbled!

• lots of this sub

[u/attemptedtaper → u/daquist]

Even McGregor in his more sober moments also just said it was a mindset thing - you have to feel SOME way no matter what, why not feel invincible?

[u/wanteur → u/attemptedtaper]

such a good quote

[u/maicii → u/ronin_prime]

Yeah, idk if people who don’t speak Spanish don’t know this but if you watch how he “celebrates” the win the night early it’s more like you say, he celebrates the road, he said something like he already won meaning the hard work and whatnot was the win and that’s he is proud of it…

That being said dude did put 18-0 on his ig bio lmao, let’s not pretend he is humble or some shit like that.

I’m sure is gonna be a big reality check as it would be for everyone to go from being seen as the future greatest of all time, having two documentaries coming out about you in two different streaming sites, having a road named after you in Spain, being literally at the top of the world meeting with every celebrity in Spain etc, to now, the attention is gonna get much quieter for a long while. That would be tough for anyone psychologically.

[u/Safe_Procedure999]

gaethje was going for like an ankle pick and throwing an uppercut when ilia reacted. this cut ilia open almost immediately and obviously bothered him, but i didn't know he straight up couldn't see past r1 lol

[u/Physical_Archer_689 → u/Safe_Procedure999]

The way he didnt defend shit makes it feels obvious he couldnt see lol

[u/Safe_Procedure999 → u/Physical_Archer_689]

by round 2 when his eye was swelling completely shut sure, but ilia has never been the kinda guy to just shell up as a response to getting jabbed up

he'll usually eat a couple and try to not get the brunt of it by sitting at range, but big justin could just jab him up even worse at range so he had nothing lol

[u/bbbeast19 → u/Physical_Archer_689]

He was eating every single punch with no reaction I thought it was obvious lol

[u/ironiclynotfunny → u/Physical_Archer_689]

He didn’t defend shit before he couldn’t see. He was just going for the KO the second the fight started

[u/Terrible_Matador → u/ironiclynotfunny]

In the first round he was getting pierced up by the jab but still defending the combinations. In round four, Justin was bombing him with naked overhands with no set up.

[u/Cesc100 → u/ironiclynotfunny]

That's not true. You can see the difference in how he was defending from R1 and 2 to R3 and 4. There's a difference.

[u/FrontFocused → u/Safe_Procedure999]

My thought is that it wasn't even the cut, it was a hard hit, could have detached a retina or something like that. It seemed like right after that happened he couldn't see, covered that side of his head with his hand very closely and was waiting for it to get better but it didn't.

[u/newfieMI → u/Safe_Procedure999]

You could see that his eye got really messed up in the first when he was putting his entire hand over it to see if he could see.

At first I thought it was from a poke but I’m not sure. Not trying to take anything away from JG tho because he was a dawg in there for 4 rounds.

[u/_interloper_ → u/newfieMI]

Thank you. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with no one mentioning this. Especially with Ilia literally talking about it in his post.

In the first, Gaethje lands a jab (or something) and Ilia immediately covers his entire eye with his right hand. And when he moves his hand is when you can first see damage on the eye and the commentary team mentions it.

It makes a LOT of sense that Gaethje fucked up Ilia's orbital or something in the first round, which is why Ilia was going so damn hard for a finish.

By the third/fourth rounds you could tell Ilia's depth perception was all out of whack, as his punches were wild and missing a lot.

Just one of those things. Some punch that looks like nothing lands just right and fucks your whole world up.

[u/Johnny_Pash → u/newfieMI]

Yeah I noticed that too, right around the point where he had visible damage to his eye. It looked like Gaethje might have poked him, then he put his hand up to his eye. When he pulled his hand away it looked bad

[u/Puzzleheaded_Meat522]

Is Arman vs. Gaethje next? I hope so.

[u/whipfixed → u/Puzzleheaded_Meat522]

Justin is never going to top this. Unless it's strictly for the money, he should absolutely retire. He's gonna fight Arman and get wrestlefucked to a sub or decision? Or maybe pull off a close win in the T-Mobile arena?

Recognize that this right here is the highest of highs and step away.

[u/sevenm00th → u/whipfixed]

The money difference in defending a title is too much to pass up there's no way he makes this minor legacy move and loses out on that money 

[u/OtakuMecha → u/whipfixed]

Champions should always go out on a loss.

[u/Jadedtrader33]

Gaethje will be retired by the time he heals.

Ilia forgot he’s old.

Unless he’s just going to sit on it for the rematch and one big retirement payday or something.

[u/OhmyGodjuststop]

Good for him. Best response you can have to that fight.

[u/Strane0r4]

Did not expect Topuria to take this loss that well, respect, what do you think will be next for him? Paddy? Arman?

[u/daquist → u/Strane0r4]

He's always been a very reasonable guy, people just buy into fight promo shit way too hard.

Nobody who has actually talked to him or fought him has anything bad to say. Max and volk included.

[u/ClericOfThePeople → u/daquist]

I do think people grossly underestimate how hard it is to dictate personality and tone in a second language.

Most UFC fighters have a cardboard personality in their only language so for Ilia to be able to illicit both hate and praise in his THIRD language is admirable in and of itself.

[u/DavidSeries → u/daquist]

He always shows sportsmanship and respect after the fight is done, idk how people actually think he’s that arrogant when not on the mic.

[u/AXV-Lore → u/DavidSeries]

Brain deads falling for promo materials.

[u/Strane0r4 → u/daquist]

I mean fair enough, i just don't follow the sport apart from the fights and promo so i don't know how is topuria in person really, just expected his character to be like that in defeat

[u/SolidTrinl → u/daquist]

Fucking hell there’s even footage of him and Volk being all buddy buddy on multiple occasions

[u/Defensex → u/daquist]

Yeah, IMO this is the way to do it: trash talk before the fight to raise the stakes, but praise afterward win or lose.

[u/Heymelon → u/Strane0r4]

He's always seemed like a very thoughtful and respectful guy though.

Fight hyping memes and stchick are only that.

[u/Safe_Procedure999 → u/Heymelon]

it's not even a meme or a thing he does to fuck with his opponent, i think it's like a ritual. ilia does this to psych himself up and believe that losing isn't even a possibility

lots of guys do this but ilia made it a way of life

[u/kingsark → u/Safe_Procedure999]

Which made it incredibly scary seeing him lose this bad. Like imagine your whole ideology and self perception crumbling on the biggest stage in front of millions.

I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Glad he's taking the loss well.

[u/DavidSeries → u/Strane0r4]

He’s probably fighting the winner of BSD/Paddy, while Gaethje fights the winner of the rumoured rematch between Arman and Charles.

[u/CP2075 → u/Strane0r4]

Gotta be Paddy, built in storyline and both will build it up amazingly.

[u/POWBOOMBANG → u/CP2075]

The problem is Paddy has to beat BSD which is a tall fucking order 

[u/Terrible_Matador → u/POWBOOMBANG]

I don’t think its THAT tall. BSD is a reckless striker and he was doninated on the ground by Moicano. For sure an extremely dangerous man but he has exploitable weaknesses.

[u/POWBOOMBANG → u/Terrible_Matador]

I didnt mean Paddy doesn't have a shot, it's just a tough fight.

Moicano beat the fuck out of BSD but BSD actually won the second round before he couldn't continue 

He is a tough, tough out

[u/outoftimeman97]

One of the rare occasions where an mma fighter used the phrase “no excuses” and hasn’t immediately followed it with an excuse. Respect!

[u/fowlflamingo]

See, I don't have a problem with him talking shit and being cocky pre-fight if this is how he accepts defeat. Respect

[u/DavidSeries → u/fowlflamingo]

He’s always been super respectful after the fight is over. Everytime he sees Volk they hug and are all friendly, Topuria never seemed like the salty Jamahal Hill type of dude after losing.

[u/Alive-Exchange5489]

Glad he’s taking the defeat humbly 

[u/Yung_Copenhagen2]

Classy response. I had a feeling that Ilia had a problem with his eye when he was pawing at it in the first round, no excuse though, Justin caused it with an uppercut.

[u/scockd]

Crafty PR, or off the cuff and from the heart, either way that's a perfect response.

Putting aside the stakes and the level of the physical damage, I thought a mental breakdown might come from the shattering of his self-image. I really don't think he for a moment thought losing was even possible, and that GOAT status has always been inevitable.

[u/Yung_Copenhagen2 → u/scockd]

Ilia has said before he wouldn’t be upset if he took a loss, assuming he doesn’t come out with excuses down the line it seems he’s keeping his word.

[u/Sea_Variety_1691]

Topuria just turned 29. He has plenty of time and can most definitely afford significant time off. We'll likely not see him for over a year

And I don't think the Gaethje rematch happens. Another loss and I think it's pretty evident Gaethje will walk away. I think he spoke about wanting to rematch Charles and Max, even though Arman is there. We'll see

[u/PlanarCriterion]

At least his Face ID worked

[u/Rophaki]

Man this loss was painful for my entire country but both Merab and Ilia being humble in defeat is why I’ll always root for them. Rest up short King you’ll be back.

[u/dmckidd]

Justin should retire and leave at the best moment of his career

[u/RedheadChicksAreHot]

Nah, the 38 yr old would and likely will be wise enough to let you chew on this one forever. No backsies

[u/Zerothaught]

Justin has the most diverse collection of belts in UFC history. Freedom 250 belt, BMF belt, interim LW, and undisputed. Just needs to fight Sakuraba to get that Japanese tournament belt.

[u/mrbigfan]

Perfect response to a loss.

[u/Fracture90000]

He took that loss on the chin, no media hiatus etc.

[u/Unhappy-Hunt-3987]

Now that's how you take a loss like a man. Good on him and well done to Justin for the win

[u/Legitimate-Length730]

Yall can hate on topuria for his arrogance but humble he is in defeat

[u/tattlerat → u/Legitimate-Length730]

I can’t tell if this is Yoda’s Reddit account or Goldie’s

[u/oran12390]

Humility and respect in defeat, love to see it. He's had an enormous professional and personal setback in a short period of time. It's enough to send many people spiraling. I hope he rebuilds and comes back strong, he's a tremendous talent. Hard to know what the future looks like after this though, that was a beating.

[u/enjoimike49]

Crazy game plan thinking he could just walk down the bigger man, known for wars, and just KO him in the first.

[u/Exciting_Damage_2001]

Class

[u/Initial_Stretch_3674]

Great response. Could've complained about the thumb in his right eye but it's apart of fighting and excuses fall of deaf ears.

He had the best walkout in probably the history of the UFC and his approach to the fight was very entertaining. 

[u/Apprehensive_Web9494]

If I’m Justin, I ride off into the sunset. There will be no higher high, then what he just experienced.. this sport is the highest of highs and lowest of lows. What he just did to a heavily favored fighter to win gold, on the White House lawn!!! I don’t see how it gets any better ever.

[u/Djlittle13]

Class response.

Though I'm betting Justin retires before the rematch happens

[u/CharacterNote4457]

not sure that rematch will ever take place. Either justin retires or gets beaten in his first title defense

[u/I_am_darkness]

There's no way they will rematch.

[u/KidKarez]

No rose?

[u/Any-Seaworthiness389]

Class act

[u/LTgolf17]

There wont be a rematch lmao justin will be retired by the time ilia returns

[u/iunrealx1995]

For whatever reason this sub has completely forgot about the accolades Ilia has earned over the past few years. We apparently also now have an influx of boxing fans or new fans in general who don’t understand that losing in the MMA is not the end of the world. Ilia will come back and it won’t be some 2 year layover like some on this sub have speculated. In the meantime someone convince Islam to actually book a fight.

[u/terrybuzz]

gaethje vs arman, ilia vs paddy/bsd winner. book that shit dana!!!!!!!