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Ilia Topuria may be out of action for an extended length of time following his devastating title loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday.
The now-former two-division champion suffered a brutal upset defeat at the hands of Gaethje on the White House’s South Lawn, retiring on the stool between the fourth and fifth rounds. Topuria appeared to sustain extensive damage in the bout, and by fight’s end was left nearly unrecognizable, his face riddled with cuts and heavy swelling closing both of his eyes.
Topuria was transported to the hospital immediately following Sunday’s event and was released on Monday, per Spanish media giant Marca, with the Georgian-Spanish fighter ultimately suffering non-displaced fractures on his face in both orbital bones. Topuria’s right eye is more damaged than his left, per Marca, though Topuria is expected to at least be able to avoid surgery.
Unsurprisingly, there is no present timetable set for his return.
"[Topuria is] busted up," UFC CEO Dana White said Sunday after UFC Freedom 250. "I'm not a doctor, but his eye looked like he probably has a broken orbital.
"My plans for him are to go home and rest, recover and take his time. Tonight was a rough night for him — I just want to make sure he's healthy and good, and I'm not ever thinking about him fighting again. I just want him to go home and relax and rest and heal."
Topuria, for what it’s worth, has taken his first professional loss in stride.
Despite tumbling down from No. 2 all the way to No. 9 on the pound-for-pound rankings, Topuria made no excuses for his performance in his first post-fight comments on Monday, congratulating Gaethje on his victory and pointing toward a potential rematch down the line between the two lightweight rivals.
Topuria wrote:
Continue reading...
The now-former two-division champion suffered a brutal upset defeat at the hands of Gaethje on the White House’s South Lawn, retiring on the stool between the fourth and fifth rounds. Topuria appeared to sustain extensive damage in the bout, and by fight’s end was left nearly unrecognizable, his face riddled with cuts and heavy swelling closing both of his eyes.
Topuria was transported to the hospital immediately following Sunday’s event and was released on Monday, per Spanish media giant Marca, with the Georgian-Spanish fighter ultimately suffering non-displaced fractures on his face in both orbital bones. Topuria’s right eye is more damaged than his left, per Marca, though Topuria is expected to at least be able to avoid surgery.
Unsurprisingly, there is no present timetable set for his return.
"[Topuria is] busted up," UFC CEO Dana White said Sunday after UFC Freedom 250. "I'm not a doctor, but his eye looked like he probably has a broken orbital.
"My plans for him are to go home and rest, recover and take his time. Tonight was a rough night for him — I just want to make sure he's healthy and good, and I'm not ever thinking about him fighting again. I just want him to go home and relax and rest and heal."
Topuria, for what it’s worth, has taken his first professional loss in stride.
Despite tumbling down from No. 2 all the way to No. 9 on the pound-for-pound rankings, Topuria made no excuses for his performance in his first post-fight comments on Monday, congratulating Gaethje on his victory and pointing toward a potential rematch down the line between the two lightweight rivals.
Topuria wrote:
Continue reading...
