Justin Gaethje Details how Ilia Topuria was Completely Drained out at UFC Freedom 250
Justin Gaethje has detailed how Ilia Topuria felt exhausted at UFC Freedom 250, comparing the situation to how he felt while fighting against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Ilia Topuria suffered the first loss of his career at UFC Freedom 250. Fighting against Justin Gaethje, ‘El Matador looked pretty lackluster in his approach. As the fight came to a forced stop, Topuria was bruised and battered from the war he had against Gaethje.
Now, looking back at their fight, the UFC Lightweight Champion claimed that the former two-division champion looked ‘empty’ and clueless about what to do inside the octagon.
Gaethje recently made an appearance on Flagrant2Army. He pointed out that Topuria looked exhausted and empty during their bout. He compared the level of exhaustion to how he himself felt after battling Khabib Nurmagomedov in the first round.
Gaethje said, “Ilia didn’t finish me with body shots. He didn’t finish me with submissions. He was done. He was empty, similar to how I was empty after I beat Khabib in the first round. I was done. It took everything from me to do that. I had nothing left.”
‘Highlight’ and the ‘Eagle’ crossed paths inside the octagon back in 2020. With Nurmagomedov dominating proceedings from the word go, an ‘empty’ Gaethje could not survive long. In the second round of the fight, the Dagestani legend went on to win the fight via submission.
Justin Gaethje Calls Out Ilia Topuria for Creating ‘Fake’ World
The bad blood between Gaethje and Topuria does not seem to ease anytime soon. After Topuria called his former opponent a ‘cheater,’ Gaethje, too, is firing back with some aggressive verbal attacks. In his recent statements, the UFC champion pointed out that Topuria had created a fake world in his head. According to Gaethje, ‘El Matador’ believed that nobody in the UFC could beat him.
“I think he created a fake world, believing he’s invincible, unbeatable. That’s not possible. Nobody’s invincible. Having parties, updating his bio - so it’s kind of the same, but as a loser now,” Gaethje said.
Gaethje also confirmed that his next fight will be against Arman Tsarukyan despite Topuria repeatedly asking for an immediate rematch.
