Ilia Topuria’s first title defence was stopped on the stool after four gruelling rounds against Justin Gaethje in an intense headliner at the White House on Saturday night.
Washington DC played host to a night of knockouts after weather threatened to halt the most historic event in UFC history. And the main event delivered a barnburner worthy of the occasion as former featherweight champion Topuria attempted to unify the lightweight division.
Did Justin Gaethje pull off the biggest upset of all time? 😱
‘The Highlight’ stopped Ilia Topuria to finally become a UFC champion at the White House.
Topuria had been out of action for almost a year to the day due to issues outside of the octagon. And after sharing a bitter rivalry before the fight, he was unable to get off the stool after round four and was stopped by the massive underdog.
Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje UFC Freedom 250 result
Heading into UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, the often soft-spoken Justin Gaethje engaged in some rare trash talk with Ilia Topuria. The Georgian-born Spaniard’s very public divorce was brought up, among other personal topics including both men’s families.
It led to a surprisingly intense atmosphere around what had quickly become one of the biggest UFC fights of all time. And the American received most of the cheers from the crowd on the White House lawn, as well as the 100,000+ at the Ellipse next door.
Topuria had celebrated his victory with a star-studded party the night before, seemingly tempting fate on the night in Washington. Oleksandr Usyk was in attendance, with Tyson Fury showing up on fight day to watch the bout.
A surprisingly even first round saw Gaethje mark Topuria under the eye with some heavy shots. However, their shootout ended with the Georgian dropping his rival in the second as he invested in the body and reaped the rewards.
The third round almost saw Gaethje score the knockout as he floored Topuria with a massive shot that seemed to knock out the champion. However, he was so exhausted that he couldn’t secure the finish with a choke and the Georgian managed to survive.
Ahead of the fourth, the doctor appeared to call off the fight due to an injury to Topuria’s eye. However, after protestation from the champion referee Marc Goddard opted to continue the fight and they kept fighting, with Gaethje getting the better of a scrappy fourth.
Someone in the Topuria corner decided enough was enough after round four, and the bout was called with Gaethje winning an all-time UFC upset.
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