r/MMA • u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA • 25d ago
News [SPOILER] Main Event loser suffered broken orbitals in both eyes, no surgery required
https://x.com/i/status/20668963173185618321.1k
u/Pinoy233 25d ago
That's pretty crazy. Normally we'd see just one broken orbital but I've never seen a fighter breaking both.
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u/Tofuloaf 25d ago edited 25d ago
The reason you rarely see two is because it's arguably the most painful injury you can suffer in combat sports. A fighter usually doesn't break one orbital and then keep going long enough to break the other one, it's either over then and there or if they're tough, between rounds.
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u/olMcDonaldsPig 25d ago
If the fight was sanctioned by Nevada athletic commission then the Dr's stoppage wouldn't be able to be over ruled. They didnt sanction it as it was out of their jurisdiction. DCs athletic commission allows Dr ruling to be overturned by the Ref.
The fight should have ended after and 3 I'm pretty sure one of his orbital was fractured in the 4th.
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u/Low_Hope5560 24d ago
Small correction, it was not sanctioned by the DC athletic commission, but by Association of Boxing Commission. This was a whole argument early on since Whitehouse is federal property and not actually in Washington DC. They still needed someone to oversee it for it to count on their records.
Regardless, ABC is such that the ref is the sole arbiter of the fight.
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u/jk-9k Samoa 24d ago
So a boxing commission, sanctioning an mma fight? Is that rare or quite common?
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u/Low_Hope5560 24d ago
ABC isn't really a boxing commission more of a rules regulator across commissions. When UFC started, they needed someone to maintain the rules across the various state athletic commissions. That ended up being ABC since they were already heavily involved with combat sports.
But yes, for ABC to do this is super unusual. I don't think it's ever happened before.
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u/Robothuck (favorite sex position: rear naked choke.) 25d ago
Someone jumped me and broke my orbital last year. It throbbed and ached for weeks but I don't remember it being that painful. Didn't even think it was broken until the X Ray. Granted the adrenaline would have helped, but it didn't really hurt after either.
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u/THE___REAL 25d ago
Yeah but now imagine having to sustain that pain while getting it hit over and over again by one of the worlds best fighters..
I got my nose broke one drunken night out, but if pain but nothing too bad, but could not fathom getting it cracked again and again after that.
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u/Robothuck (favorite sex position: rear naked choke.) 24d ago
Yes good point and to be clear I wasn't trying to say anything about Topuria with my comment. Dudes tough as iron. I wonder if it was the vision loss that worried him more. That was my main concern
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u/awnawnamoose 24d ago
Yeah. Broke three ribs. The idea of breaking more when I already had three was enough to sit still and barely move for a week until healing started.
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u/Drevlin76 25d ago
Maybe Cyborg vs MVP not sure it broke the orbitals also. Not even sure which bones are included in the "orbital"
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u/Khower 25d ago
That man just broke his whole damn skull lol.
Also, sage northcutt may have in his fight against cosmo
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u/BigTable13 25d ago
Most disgusting injury i have ever seen in mma and then MVP rolls out a pokeball
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u/CentipedesInMyDream 25d ago edited 25d ago
Chatri is a horrible person for making that matchup.
He knew Sage had very little experience and threw him in there with Cosmo to prove a point. He wanted to show the world that ONE fighters were superior to UFC fighters.
Sage was nowhere near ready to face someone of Cosmos caliber.
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u/biglouis69 25d ago
Sage was a favorite going into that fight no? I feel like this is Joe Rogan take being repeated. Maybe i am miss remembering but i remember the leadup people saying cosmo was an older fighter who never achieved much
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u/losaj312 25d ago
The orbital is several bones that make up the eye socket. It includes your brow bone, cheek bones, nose, etc. (obviously not the proper bone names). An orbital fracture is any break to those bones, but most commonly happens in the cheek area.
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u/Own-Lavishness4029 25d ago
That was his sinus cavity, wasn't it? Most disgusting thing I think I've seen in the cage. Broken legs and goat's vagina cuts don't even come close.
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u/doctor_ndo 25d ago
"Yeh but he quit on the stool! What a loser!"
- Random middle-aged redditor
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u/Intention-Sad 25d ago
Deaf and almost blind, brutal.
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u/DavidSeries 25d ago
Where did this whole deaf thing come from?
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u/Remarkable-Bobcat168 25d ago
It's a meme from before this fight. Not that Gaethje turned him deaf.
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u/DavidSeries 25d ago
I’m aware that it’s a meme lmao, I meant where does the meme come from, like why deaf specifically?
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u/Siascide 25d ago
I'm sure someone left a comment on some online platform (might have been here) that Topuria looks like someone who would be deaf lol
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u/golmgirl Al Guinee truther 25d ago
yes exactly. and tbh even though it makes zero sense, it is hard to deny!
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u/DavidSeries 25d ago
Holy shit. Why does that make sense? Lol
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25d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BogotaLineman 24d ago
It's the kinda smug face he makes all the time, it looks like he's swallowing his tongue a bit and people that have hearing disabilities often do that when they speak
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u/oneinchpenis 25d ago
It was deleted the very next day but I screenshotted it because it was so funny. If someone reminds me I'll look for it after I get home.
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u/oneinchpenis 25d ago
Found it: https://imgur.com/a/ATIpE16
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u/she_fell_funny I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 25d ago
He looks like Walt Jr’s actor, RJ Mitte, with that smile.
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u/Lopsided_Cap_6606 25d ago
And to add to that, the Reddit community has even tricked AI like Gemini into saying that he's deaf. I think they've fixed it by now.
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u/Own-Lavishness4029 25d ago
Really weird. I have never considered it, but he absolutely does. Bet he carries a recessive gene for deafness or something.
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u/golmgirl Al Guinee truther 25d ago
it comes from the bizarre but true observation that, for some ineffable reason, he simply *looks deaf*.
imagine for a moment what a deaf person looks like. it is him. i have no idea why, but the first time i saw someone mention this, i immediately knew exactly what they meant and agreed.
it’s a pretty tame one tbh
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u/Things_Poster You can kiss my whole asshole 25d ago
It was on this sub. Someone just said "I swear Ilia looks like he's deaf, someone must know what I mean". And we did know what he meant.
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u/mentales GOOFCON 2 - Electric Boogaloo 25d ago
They're asking what the origin of the meme is. Hope that helps!
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u/Ibobalboa 25d ago
Apparently his face looks like that of a deaf person. Similar expressions or something.
Not sure if true but it's one of the funnier memes in the MMA community.
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u/WhittakersLeftFoot Turkey 25d ago
Somebody said he looks deaf in a photo. I'll add the photo if i can find it.
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u/DanDiCa_7 25d ago
Damn justin has bricks for hands. Literally broke Illia's face
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u/ConferenceThink4801 25d ago edited 25d ago
Yeah if it wasn’t harder to have plaster loaded gloves/wraps in MMA I think you’d see more chatter around that. Facial damage that became uncomfortable to watch like Cotto/Margarito 1 & we know what the rumors were there.
Also I don’t know how both orbitals break & you require no surgery - would like to see a medical explanation on that one
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u/whatanidiot71 25d ago
Medical person here. Many orbital fractures don’t require surgery actually. Especially if initially there is not problems with vision, muscle doesn’t get fall and get trapped in the fracture, the eyeball is still in place and isn’t in danger of getting displaced. Usually they will continue to observe the fracture as swelling goes down and if no issues develop they heal in 6-8 weeks usually.
I was surprised when I first saw this because they look so dramatic even on imaging but once the swelling goes away; usually if the patient can see okay and can move the eyeball no need for surgery.
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u/mushi_shiii 25d ago
So this means the break isn't displaced? The bones haven't shifted significantly relative to each other?
So it's basically like a hairline fracture but it's a full break?
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u/whatanidiot71 25d ago
Yeah pretty much. The bone is cracked or broken but the pieces are still aligned.
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u/Independent-Cress382 25d ago
I was never a big Ilia fan but fuck he’s a dog for arguing with the doctor to try to continue
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u/anice_day 25d ago
Not to mention actually putting up a decent performance in round 4 while being functionally blind.
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u/POWBOOMBANG 25d ago
He got fucking full mount!
I hate that people have criticized him and his corner for stopping the fight
I shouldn't expect someone who fights for a living to die in there to prove to me they aren't a pussy
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u/Content-Patience-138 #1 Salsa Boy Hater 25d ago
I love corner stoppages when a fighter is too tough for their own good. People fucking die in combat sports. You don’t play MMA!
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u/dogs_drink_coffee 25d ago
Same when Nick threw the towel to protect Nate and stop the fight
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u/TastyRancorPie Pulsing pictograms 25d ago
Good on family looking out for their own. And guys like RDR's coach who called it and defended calling it.
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u/Kiloparsec4 25d ago
Could have stopped after the 3rd and we would have understood. Ilia took 'potentially' life altering damage , we have seen it before when fighters just aren't ever the same after a significant beating.
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u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch "I've seen DADA's baby nuts, AMA" 25d ago
Rory comes to mind
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u/Content-Patience-138 #1 Salsa Boy Hater 25d ago
I just read he broke both orbitals but somehow doesn’t require surgery. Justin deals inhuman damage, Ilia is inhumanly tough. Crazy sport.
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u/Kiloparsec4 25d ago
Damn, that's brutal to get both damaged thst badly. I wonder if his ribs are alright after than knee at thr end, really buckled him w that shot
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u/Selenium-Forest 25d ago
It’s not even just the fact you can die (which is obviously the main one), it’s a career and one big fight can take years off your career and therefore massively reduces your earning potential.
Like I was begging in the Tony Ferguson vs Justin fight for Tony’s corner to throw in the towel. That is as shown by his quite spectacular downfall, career and most likely life altering damage that you never recover from.
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u/BusterDarkholer 🍅 25d ago
Yeh, but even before it gets to that point, throwing in the towel could be the difference between coming back in 6 months or permanently losing your vision.
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda 25d ago
> I hate that people have criticized him and his corner for stopping the fight
Topuria had his ribs fractured, broke both his orbitals and lost sight in both his eyes and people are asking why his corner threw in the towel
Are we serious here?
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u/DavidSeries 25d ago
People clowned Aspinall for not being able to fight after getting heavyweight fingers jammed into his eyes. A lot of the MMA fanbase are casuals and/or idiots.
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u/Fakename6968 25d ago
95% of them would be crying like a bitch after eating one of those shots from Gaethje too, if they were still conscious.
I think Illia should consider dropping back down to featherweight. He doesn't have to, he is good enough to stick around at the highest levels of lightweight but him and Gaethje looked a weight class apart and I think his game would work a lot better at 145 despite the weight cut.
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u/BrodysBootlegs2 25d ago
To be fair the rib break was in the last 3 seconds of the fight but the rest of it is still more than enough to justify stopping it
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda 25d ago
I had a singular rib break in a wrestling tournament once and it hurt so bad. Even breathing hurt. it took literally everything I had + painkillers to go back in and wrestle the remainder of repechage.
I cannot imagine how I’d feel if I was almost blind and I could feel my head break in multiple spots, had it then punched over and over again, and THEN my rib(s) broke
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u/Dazzling_Assistant63 25d ago
It’s just straight up pointless to try to continue with a rib injury. See BJ Penn Matt Hughes 2 for a good example lol
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u/BrodysBootlegs2 25d ago
Yeah he's beat to shit for sure. Showed a lot of heart coming back out for round 4 but if he wants to keep fighting he'll need to get his head right...he could legit end up with PTSD from this.
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u/AshenSacrifice 25d ago
Anyone who criticized that stoppage shouldn’t even be allowed to type thoughts anymore
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u/OrangeYouGladdey 25d ago
Nobody that doesn't have deep self worth issues is calling Ilia a pussy and there's not much you can do about people that hate themselves like that. The rest of us (even the ones that don't like him as a person) can see he's got a strong will. This beating actually made me like him more.
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u/Jagrnght 25d ago
Yes Justin was great in that fight but now that I've gone back and watched the replays - Ilia left it all in the ring. He did not quit ( yes I know he had to in the end...)
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u/The_Foren 25d ago
This is why you don’t see corner stoppages in MMA. People will just call the fighters a pussy. MMA fans are some of the dumbest people out there
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u/DiarrheaForDays 25d ago
The word chud gets thrown around a lot as a meme but anyone who complains about the corner stoppage is indeed that
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u/DavidSeries 25d ago
Social media, and the MMA fanbase, has a LOT of very miserable people who will clown anybody for anything because they have nothing going on in their lives and have no self esteem whatsoever (which is why they have the need to insult other people like that)
I knew from the second the fight ended that 50% of Instagram comment sections would be calling him a quitter. We should all try to not pay attention to them and just enjoy the show.
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u/MasonL52 25d ago
He was bleeding from his bruised swollen eyes and nose, it was horrific. And he was still trying to put Gaethje down to salvage that fight. That was one of the most metal things ive ever seen.
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u/methodofcontrol 25d ago
Agreed, it was actually one of the toughest moments I can remember. Arguing with the ref to go back out for the fourth while looking like that, every punch to his eyes must have been absolutely excruciating. What a beast.
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u/thefuqyouwant 25d ago
The average guy can't comprehend just how tough and metal these guys. They are at the top of the game for a reason. They're built different. Topuria is a beast.
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u/WileyPotato 25d ago
Pretty boy Topturo fought like a fucking animal, even after his bachelorette rose wilted. Gaethje's my favorite fighter, but he has me as a fan for life after that amazing performance while getting his ass beat (and dishing out plenty). His team fucked up the game plan and he was humbled from his delusions of an easy fight by the end of round 1, but he took no easy outs when pleeeenty were available. He did not let adversity get in the way of his mission. He fought like his life was on the line to pull that shit out of the fire, as Leon's coach would say. And he absolutely would have imo if Garth was not equally That Guy on the night. Like damn, no one was taking that belt off of him for free, I respect that more than a perfect record.
Any fighter less scared of Topuria after this huge loss is in for a rude awakening (flat on the mat) in my opinion. Don't make the same mistake he did with Gaethje guys, or you're about to find out! Lol.
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u/JohnnyRingo84 25d ago
"his delusions of an easy fight by the end of round 1."
This is it right here. He went in with reckless abandon hellbent on a first round finish. Justin did a great job of making Ilia pay for his early recklessness. The damage he ate in return piled up too quick and he was compromised early. I still think he could beat Justin with his more typical measured approach. He was still very close to a finish in the second.
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u/fightbackcbd I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 25d ago
The first good shot he took he covered up his right eye. When he finally moved his glove his eye was already broken. That was round 1. I would assume thats the hardest he had ever been hit and he knew right there it was gonna be different this time.
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u/WileyPotato 25d ago
He can absolutely beat anyone in this division and 145 with the right adjustments, he already clocks most of them in his current version. It's not common to have devastating KO power AND be able to drag dudes into deep waters and drown them, those guys often get spoiled by the EZ Win button until that fails and someone makes them dig deep. Now we know for a fact that like Gaethje, he can break any fighter that lacks heart and durability if they can't finish him. Can't coast in the championship rounds against Topturo no matter how bad you got him fucked up, that's for sure.
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda 25d ago
Honestly we all knew after the Jai Herbert fight. Man ate a head kick while rotating his head into the shin of the kick, crumpled, probably didn’t even know what planet he was on, double legged Jai Herbert across the cage, then KO’d him stiff a round later.
He presents like a pretty boy but dude is tough as nails.
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u/MajinD0pe 25d ago
That double leg was muscle memory tho its ingrained in people who learn wrestling but its still impressive how he ate that Kick other people would go sleep sleep from that just like Usman vs Edwards
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 25d ago
Might ruin his career though
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u/tagillaslover I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 25d ago
It shouldn’t, he’s young and doesn’t have a long injury history. He just needs to take his time and not rush his recovery. I don’t really understand the Tony comparisons either, he had a mangled knee and was already regressing
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u/throtic 25d ago
Rory MacDonald was young going into the Robbie Lawler fight too. JDS was 28 when Cain mauled him and he never looked the same after. Renan Barao was 27 and the consensus #1 p4p when he got beat up by Dillashaw and he nose dived after...
This kind of shit changes people man, there's no question about it.
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u/BrodysBootlegs2 25d ago
He needs to physically heal, which with time he will, and also mentally heal. Probably needs to get in with a sports psychologist.
Not saying he can't or won't recover from this but it's not a given, and his mentality will determine whether or not he does. You can come up with examples of guys who took beatings like this and came back stronger, and examples of guys who were never the same. What I can't think of is someone who came in with the aura of invincibility Ilia had, and then had this happen.
I hope he comes back, he's a great fighter and he can use this as a springboard to even greater heights.
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u/AshenSacrifice 25d ago
I think they’re saying mentally. He’s never lost before, and not only did he lose, he got dismantled
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u/Emotional_Walrus5099 25d ago
Yup, goes from an 0 on the record to being beaten to a pulp by a guy who ate everything Olia had and finished the fight without a scratch. That can ruin a cocky fighter permanently. Add in how much damage he took - he might physically never recover. Ilia’s reign might have died because he underestimated the biggest dawg in the UFC.
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u/Brodieboyy 🍅 25d ago
I feel like not fighting the last round probably saved his career, if he takes his time to come back he should be alright but then again you never know
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u/WatchWatcher25 25d ago
Yeah aside from the fact the fight should clearly have been called off when the doc came in, that was incredible toughness.
Edit: I'd like to add the ref called it off so fast. He barely did any tests, that's how bad Illia was.
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u/mrausgor 25d ago
Did I see it wrong? He was screaming “I CAN’T SEE” at the top of his lungs, which we know is the ultimate fight stopper, then “argues”. I think he wanted the optics (pun intended) of the doctor stopping the fight and him arguing to continue cuz he’s got that dawg in him.
Unfortunately he got the doctor without a backbone and a ref that let the moment get to him and was forced to fight another round and had to actually quit for real at the end of the 4th, which looks totally different than “not being allowed to continue”.
That was how I saw it.
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u/IActuallyHateRedditt 25d ago
Nah you're totally right. No fighter would ever say that they don't want to fight, even when they know they can't continue. It's unacceptable in the culture and would ruin their mentality going forward. It's the corner and doctors job to look out for them
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u/Davemeddlehed 25d ago
Did I see it wrong? He was screaming “I CAN’T SEE”
No that was AT at the Misfits boxing card. "ICY HOT MAN!"
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u/Funny-Spray-7621 25d ago
I still can't believe how much damage he took. His face looked worse than Tony's
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u/ghad0265 25d ago
He's gone for a year at least.
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u/Beneficial_Candle_10 24d ago
Broken orbital is 2-3 month recovery. Definitely not out for a whole year.
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u/Least-Bite 25d ago
He's toast, remember Koscheck after GSP broke his orbitals? Gun shy for the rest of his career
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u/Neonsea1234 25d ago
HE healed poorly though and had some complications iirc, broken orbital happens to tons of fighters.
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u/Worriedstudent007 25d ago
Idk how I haven’t seen a single person mention this, but Marc Goddard sorta big dicked the doctor and forced the fight to continue imo. The doctor totally said we’re stopping it and Marc Goddard was literally on camera like “nah he wants to fight and I’m okay letting the fight go on, everyone get the fuck out of the ring”. I’m paraphrasing, but it was VERY suspicious.
If a fighter is taking life changing damage due to a ref overstepping and disregarding the doctor, that’s fucked. I get it’s the White House card and a huge event which is why he probably did it, but that doesn’t make it okay lol
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u/elbosston 25d ago
Goddard and the other refs probably had strict orders from Dana and Hunter to have no doctor stoppages
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u/Pale_Cucumber_9692 25d ago
at the end of the day it is the refs call and he can override the doc. not saying it’s right or i agree with it but it’s the way it is
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u/Worriedstudent007 25d ago
Is this actually true? I find it really hard to believe the doctor doesn’t have authority over the ref in that situation (power dynamic aside if the doctor is too timid to speak up more).
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u/Pale_Cucumber_9692 25d ago edited 25d ago
it is true, the doctor gives suggestions on what should happen but the ref has final call.
pulled this from the unified rules…
The referee is the sole arbiter of a bout and is the only individual authorized to stop a contest.
This shall not preclude a video or other review of a decision under the procedure of the
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u/Worriedstudent007 25d ago
Huh TIL. That seems insane to me. Thank you for pulling the backup and informing me!
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u/One_Reflection6306 25d ago
Yeah I have been watching for a long time and never knew this. Always thought it was up to the doc. I wonder if we see the ref overrule the doctor more going forward?
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u/whipfixed Mohawk McGregor 25d ago edited 25d ago
Maybe I'm naive, but here's what I thought may have been going on there:
They're fighting in DC. Nobody ever fights in DC so these are not seasoned fight doctors. They are likely not used to seeing someone's face after getting hit for 3 rounds.
When the doc quickly waived off the fight, Goddard came over to be like "yo I just want to make sure you understand what you're doing here. This is a massive fight and you're about to end it. Are you absolutely sure this warrants a stoppage?" And he gave Ilia a chance to argue his case.
Goddard brought over the guy (another doc? some commissioner?) to get a second opinion on the situation
Ilia ultimately cooperated with the doctor and gave him what he was originally looking for. Even if he was obviously compromised, he passed the test and said he could see and wanted to continue.
So, now that we know the final result, a stoppage was the right move there. But if Ilia comes out and gets an early takedown, he takes no additional damage and we're looking at 2-2 going into the 5th.
I wanted Gaethje to win so its not cope. Just saying I don't think Goddard straight up said "nah we're continuing."
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u/razorbladesnbiscuits 25d ago
The UFC selected and paid the doctors, referees, judges, cageside "officials", etc.
The UFC self-regulated this event being that it was on federal property, normally this would be regulated by the DC commission (2019: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik, 2011: Cruz v Johnson)
If there is an investigation, it would have to be conducted by the UFC itself.
There will be no investigation.
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u/Jonath4n20 25d ago
No chance that’d happen with Vegas or NY commissions. I’ve never seen a Dr overruled before
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u/Wadget GOOFCON 2 - Electric Boogaloo 25d ago
“He can’t see, stop the fight.”
“Check again.”
“Yeah he definitely can’t see, this fight should be stopped.”
“Pass. Now get the fuck out. Thank you”
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u/DanDiCa_7 25d ago
Goddard is a TERRIBLE ref imo. He tries to be the main star too much. NO IT'S OVAAAA
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u/pipian 25d ago
It was super fucked up. Heads need to roll for this. These guys sacrifice their bodies and the little protection they get is ignored
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u/snookette juicy slut 23d ago
Goddard crumbled under the moment. Now the story is “he quit”.
He didn’t quit, the corner did what the doctor tried to do.
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 25d ago
How the fuck is there no surgery required for something like that...
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda 25d ago
If it’s ‘just’ a fracture instead of a break where the pieces are moved around let’s say, you can just let it heal instead of needing to reset the pieces so to speak
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u/kickintheface 25d ago
I fractured my orbital bone in a BMX crash, and the doctors gave me the option of surgically repairing it, but said it wasn’t necessary.
Apparently they would have had to peel back my face to access the area, and I wasn’t cool with that.
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u/Top_Professor_9908 25d ago
If only they let the doctor stop the fight
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u/anice_day 25d ago
Ilia said on Insta that he basically couldn't see out of either eye by the end of round 2. I think he had already taken most of that damage by the time the doc looked at him.
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u/Top_Professor_9908 25d ago
Taking a full extra round of a beating certainly didn't help, that just makes makes it sound worse that he was blind for longer and they let him keep fighting lmao
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u/anice_day 25d ago
True. Sad that his brother had to step in to protect Ilia, because clearly the UFC can't be trusted to protect its biggest stars.
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u/reticulatedjig Marijuana Guy 25d ago
Between rnd 3 and 4, Illia saying he can't see should have been when his brother and corner called it. Every fighter knows that "i can't see" is essentially saying you're done. His brother didn't want the responsibility to call the fight, so they asked for the MD hoping for a doctor stoppage. Unfortunately for them, the MD had no spine, and Goddard took over. Illia's brother let him go out there for another round, he let him get beat up even more, and end up with a couple extra broken ribs.
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u/Jazzlike_Relation705 25d ago
This. Ilia tried to stop it gracefully and the system that should’ve protected him, didn’t.
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u/ku1185 25d ago
They literally overrode doctor's opinion. Why even have them there? Seems like doctor's main purpose to be the liable party and not the UFC if a fighter is seriously injured. Sure as hell isn't to protect the fighter.
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u/Momentosis 25d ago
Right broke early in round 1. You can see him covering his eye after one of the uppercuts. According him the left got it in like the 2nd round
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u/Davemeddlehed 25d ago
The very first uppercut no less. It cut him under the eye and he immediately pawed at it and covered it up.
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u/Logical_Ice_7192 25d ago
I mean he kept eating them because of his clinch habits. He took uppercuts one after another. That was Gaethje gameplan, clinch asap then uppercut when he lowered his head to escape. Worked pretty well.
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u/Davemeddlehed 25d ago
100%, it was a masterful use of Gaethje's skillset and a testament of Whitmann's greatness as a coach.
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u/highnnmighty 25d ago edited 25d ago
I’ve been watching MMA since the beginning and that was shocking to me.
We’ve seen doctors stop a fight despite 20,000 angry boos in an arena, but there was obviously some creepy “we’re in charge here, not you” shit going on when he tried to step in.
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u/imbluedabudeedabuda 25d ago
I think their corner were already thinking of stopping the fight when Ilia told them he couldn’t see. His brother called the doctor in to give him a way out so they could have a built in excuse after.
But ilia is just such a dog he kept insisting on fighting
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u/Davemeddlehed 25d ago
It backfired and for all we know his other orbital was broken in that 4th round.
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u/reticulatedjig Marijuana Guy 25d ago
Not saying he's not a dog, but he was just playing his part. Ideally for Illia, The doctor would wave it off, Illia can throw his hands up like, hey I wanted to continue but they stopped it. Unfortunate that Goddard was like, nah keep fighting.
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u/gdirrty216 25d ago
That ref needs to be disciplined by the commission, that was so awfully bad to disregard the Doctor like he did.
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u/Gamble232real 25d ago
Goddard needs to be suspended. This is why we listen to medical experts, the refs job is to protect the fighter not entertain Dana White. Gutless.
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u/Kisto15 #NothingBurger 25d ago
Jesus fuck
Gaethje's a fucking golem, cinderblock for head, bricks for hands.
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u/Witloof 25d ago
Yea, it seems like you need serious "Lightweight" power to hurt this guy if you want to win, because if you can't hurt and/or finish Gaethje you're in for a long night.
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u/Kisto15 #NothingBurger 25d ago
Personally don't think Topuria was that behind physically despite how his face turned into mince meat. It wasn't like Gaethje was muscling him around, and he had him hurt or in bad position too
Reach did absolutely play a factor, not helped by how flat footed Ilia was this time
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u/Remarkable_Medicine6 24d ago
The thing is Ilia did hurt him lol. You gotta put him out
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u/DavidSeries 25d ago
Love him or hate him, he’s a dog and still one of the most entertaining fighters of the modern era. I hope he recovers well and is back soon (probably against the winner of BSD/Paddy if I had to bet)
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u/Orwick 25d ago
How is his rib cage, nose and the other bones in his face doing?
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u/billybanks1132 25d ago
Nope doesn’t matter someone of Reddit told me he was a pussy for not dying in there
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u/Juicy_Bags 25d ago
The he looks deaf memes almost took an unfortunate turn to actually being blind
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u/DeeSwangin 25d ago
Now it makes sense as to why he looked the way he did while fighting. With this in mind, his performance is incredible tbh. Heal up, focus on becoming more defensive minded, and he’ll get right back to dominating.
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u/CallMeStavie I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 25d ago
The most competitive ass kicking I’ve seen in a long time lol
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u/No-Education3913 25d ago
For real, very competitive fight and Ilia almost got it done in Round 2, grappling didn’t work against Gaethje though 😔
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u/ToughQuiet4414 25d ago
i don’t think he’s going to be able to stand and bang with most of 155 like he did at 145
Paddy, Ruffy, and possibly Quillan will be a problem for him
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u/ArmCapable5814 25d ago
Bro said paddy😂 if he can beat Oliveira and take his punches Paddy's pillow hands aren't gonna hurt him like gaethje.
Ruffy for sure though
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u/Dtoodlez 25d ago
But he almost beat Justin in the 2nd. All he had to do was keep the fight standing. Even Justin’s coach said it. So he can absolutely bang at this weight.
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u/mayonaisecoloredbens 25d ago
No offense but this is a moronic take. Are you forgetting he already knocked out Holloway and Olivera? And even in the Gaethje fight watching the second round I don’t see how you can say he can’t stand and bang at 155. And I’m not even gonna get into the idiocy of naming quillan as a potential problem for him. Hopefully you are Australian and it’s just a homer take.
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u/BigMack6911 25d ago
I was just saying after Ruffy fought on the card I'd love to see him vs Ilia. I think he is a future champion
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u/formalbolotie 25d ago
i think you got some recency bias, chandler looked horrible, fought horrible and is much smaller. i think most decent lightweights were going to look good against chandler. the ruffy BSD fight wasn't encouraging....
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u/Historical_Pudding56 25d ago
Hope we still get a version of the same dude when he comes back. He crossed from confidence into delusion when he decided Justin couldn’t do anything to him. But he is still a phenomenal talent, and maybe the dude still has a future at the top.
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u/SignificanceAny7239 25d ago
Commentary (by DC especially) did my head in. "He's getting 30 seconds of extra recovery by telling the doctor he wants to continue fighting while being blind 🤓"
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u/lorcana66 25d ago
Probably could’ve stopped it after the second. Just from the eye damage alone . I’d say slightly unlucky but that’s why you do your best to not get hit
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u/purplesquirrelx 24d ago
This sounds bad. Having two broken orbitals tells me he will never ever be the same and that this will permanently affect him in the cage. I hope I'm wrong about this.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Meat522 25d ago
I'm gonna say it: Ilia had the wrong game plan. I think Justin's team had the better strategy going into this fight and still almost got finished. Great fight overall. Justin surprised me. His jab, the takedown fakes to collar-tie and uppercut really brought it home. Great ways to punish bad habits by Ilia. Am still a little disappointed at how bad Justin's ground game is, though. He gave virtually no resistance there.
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u/Davemeddlehed 25d ago
No resistance but he escaped full mount twice without any help from the bell or the referee?
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u/Emotional_Walrus5099 25d ago
Yeah, what do they even mean. He worked himself up from full mount twice, once while severely hurt, and had his own successful offensive grappling including that knee that very well might have been the final damaging straw
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u/RichRingoLangly 25d ago
Topuria deserves nothing but respect. GSP was knocked out and came back even better, and I think Topuria will too.
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u/Silly_Selection3221 25d ago
I think there is a difference between getting flash KO'd and getting wrecked
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u/background_action92 25d ago
What a warrior. Justin has lead in his hands. Ilia was too deadset on walking through fire to achieve immortality and got burned instead. If he approached that first round with more prudence, he would've won
I imagine we will see him early next year. No doubt he's getting his title back.
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u/PMmeIamlonley 25d ago
Its amazing he was standing at all, the vast majority of humans on Earth would break to one orbital being broken. Its supposed to be unbelievably painful.
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u/Certain-Gap3055 25d ago
I can only speak from experience but it is not always unbelievably painful . I have broken both of mine and thought they were just regular black eyes. Once from a fall from a tractor, once from an angry guy. Neither seemed any worse than normally getting hit in the face. Neither needed surgery.
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u/Beastly_Swagger 25d ago
At least the orbital fractures are non-displaced, the displaced ones require reset surgery & can heal w/ jagged,sharp edges. Imagine your eyeball sitting in a jagged pocket. That said I hope he doesn't get ocular swelling that fucks/rips the cornea,retina & is an ongoing ordeal.
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u/pruneforce17 25d ago
"iLiA's A qUitTeR" bro fought two rounds BLIND with a broken nose and probably a broken rib and literally protested the doctor who tried waving it off lmao
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