Justin Gaethje: 'Pretty boy' Ilia Topuria 'really backed himself into a corner' with UFC Freedom 250 trash talk
Justin Gaethje defied the odds to become the UFC lightweight champion at the White House on Sunday night. UFC Freedom 250 closed in the wildest fashion imaginable, as America's Gaethje went into his 155-pound title tilt as a heavy underdog opposite the previously undefeated, now
Justin Gaethje defied the odds to become the UFC lightweight champion at the White House on Sunday night.
UFC Freedom 250 closed in the wildest fashion imaginable, as America's Gaethje went into his 155-pound title tilt as a heavy underdog opposite the previously undefeated, now-former champion Ilia Topuria . Four grueling rounds resulted in a back-and-forth war before Topuria's corner called off the fight between rounds to score Gaethje the win.
Gaethje spoke afterward about how dangerous his opponent really was.
"He's very good. My liver still hurts right now," Gaethje said at the UFC Freedom 250 post-fight press conference. "Those body shots were crazy. He was really, really fast, but when he didn't get the finish at the end of the second round, I think it really took his spirit. And I said it in the press conference leading up — he really backed himself into a corner, saying he's going to be so dominant. And I said it — when we go to the second round, you're going to be like, 'What the f***?' Then the third round, and that's what I did today.
"I never felt he was broken because he was so dangerous the whole time, but in the third round, when I started landing those jabs, when I started finding his back foot, I knew something was different."
Against Topuria, Gaethje faced an uphill battle from his seat as the interim champion. But the first round instantly flipped the script of expectations, as Gaethje utilized his jab to perfection and took the early lead. In the second round, the champion battled back in a big way, downing Gaethje with body shots but ultimately failing to maintain momentum down the stretch.
Gaethje noted on the UFC Freedom 250 post-show that early in the fight, Topuria was visibly distracted by the damage he had sustained.
"He's such a pretty boy that he was so concerned about the blood so immediately," Gaethje said. "I hit him with the uppercut, he's bleeding, and he started touching it over and over and over again.
