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“El Matador” is healing.
It has been 16 days since former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria, suffered a violent technical knockout loss via corner stoppage at the hands Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.
Topuria was badly mangled after the fight and was immediately transported to the hospital. Since leaving the cage and entering the ambulance, the Spanish-Georgian superstar had not been seen publicly.
That changed today (Tues., June 30, 2026), when Georgian reporter Giorgi Kokiashvili shared a picture of Topuria out and about while taking a photo with a young fan.
Check it out below:
All things considered, Topuria appears to be healing well, which lines up with what his trainer recently said about his recovery.
According to Topuria’s team, the former champion could return as soon as December, but he will need six to eight weeks for his face to heal properly, especially because there was no orbital bone displacement.
However, if Topuria does not return in December, he is expected to be back sometime in 2027.
Topuria (17-1) had his pristine undefeated record snapped at UFC Freedom 250 and lost his Lightweight title in the process. He is now 9-1 inside the Octagon.
Prior to the violence loss, Topuria was on one of the best runs the sport has ever seen, knocking out Alexander Volkanovski (watch it), Max Holloway (watch highlights) and Charles Oliveira (watch highlights) consecutively, which earned him double-champion status and made him one of the biggest stars in the sport.
While Topuria praised Gaethje for the win, he has not said much publicly about the loss itself.
That will likely change in the coming weeks.
For now, though, the important thing is simple: Topuria is healing, he is back in public, and the comeback clock has officially started.
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