Ilia Topuria Grateful to Brother Aleksandre for Saving His UFC Career
Former two-division champion Ilia Topuria has confessed that if his brother had not been present in his corner at UFC Freedom 250, he might never have been able to compete again.
Ilia Topuria lost his 155-pound strap to Justin Gaethje at the White House on June 14. During the title unification clash, which lasted for 20 minutes, Gaethje shattered the Georgian-Spaniard's nose, foot, and both orbital bones.
After three rounds, Topuria's eyes were severely swollen, and he was struggling to see. The ringside doctor wanted to stop the fight after the 3rd stanza, but Ilia refused to give up and, with referee Marc Goddard's assist, continued fighting.
However, in Round 4, he endured even more punishment, and when Ilia went back to his stool after taking a hard knee to the body from Gaethje, his brother Aleksandre Topuria immediately decided to stop the bout.
Goddard thanked "El Conquistador" for making the right call because if the 29-year-old had to fight for one more round, things could have been much worse, as he could have lost vision in both eyes.
Ilia Topuria Thanks Brother Aleksandre For Saving His Career
During a recent sit-down with Adam Catterall, Ilia Topuria admitted that his fighting career was saved by his brother on June 14, and if Aleksandre had not intervened, he would never have been able to fight again. "El Matador" said:
“100%. If he hadn’t stopped me from fighting, I probably wouldn’t have been able to fight again in my life... Actually, I’m so grateful to my brother that he decided to stop me because I love what I’m doing. I had a bad experience, but I still have a lot of things ahead of me, so it would be very sad for me to hear from a doctor, or from anyone, that I wouldn’t be able to fight anymore.”
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:
When does Ilia Topuria plan to fight again?
"El Matador" wants to enter the Octagon next April and has archrival Paddy Pimblett in his crosshairs. However, he would also love to run it back with Justin Gaethje.
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:
