Islam Makhachev shared his thoughts on Ilia Topuria‘s loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. Topuria suffered the first loss of his career against Gaethje, who secured a TKO victory by doctor’s stoppage.
Gaethje dethroned Topuria, who entered the fight with bold aspirations. ‘El Matador’ made it clear that he had his sights set on Makhachev after a bout between them fell through. Both fighters shared their accounts of what really happened and exchanged words through interviews and social media.
Despite the animosity and disagreement over what led to their fight falling through, Makhachev shared words of encouragement.
“Sure, [Topuria] will be back because he’s still young, bro. He has time. I hope he will come back and show a good performance,” Makhachev said during his appearance on Demetrious Johnson’s MIGHTYcast. “Ilia is a good fighter, he has good punches, good wrestling, good skills on the ground. If he focuses again, maybe he will be [lightweight] champion again.”
Makhachev said he believes Topuria can regain the lightweight championship, but must overcome the mental toll of his loss.
“This fight [with Gaethje] changed his life, but we don’t know which way.”
It is unclear when Topuria will return to the octagon or who his opponent could be.
Islam Makhachev Pinpoints the Biggest Mistake Ilia Topuria Made Against Justin Gaethje
Islam Makhachev also pinpointed what ultimately cost Ilia Topuria the fight against Justin Gaethje. Makhachev felt Topuria was focused solely on knocking Gaethje out rather than trying to securing the victory.
Topuria was successful in some of the striking exchanges with Gaethje. However, ‘The Highlight’ was resilient and managed to regain momentum. Gaethje eventually overwhelmed ‘El Matador’ until Topuria was unable to continue.
Makhachev said Topuria underestimated Gaethje’s toughness.
“I think what happened with Ilia was he just underestimate [Gaethje] because he was thinking he can beat him easy, he can knock him out,” Makhachev told MIGHTYcast. “He believed in his power. But, Gaethje is the real dog. He can fight all night.”
He continued:
“What happened? [Topuria] spent too much energy trying to knock him out, try to land some hard punch, and he became tired.”
Makhachev Shares His Side of Why Topuria Fight Fell Through
Makhachev also shared his side of why his fight with Topuria fell through. Makhachev made it clear that he agreed to fight Topuria and believed ‘El Matador’ was to blame for it not happening.
Demetrious Johnson inquired about why Makhachev was sidelined for so long after winning the welterweight championship last year. The Dagestani said that it was not his decision. In fact, he was ready to return in June and accepted a bout against Topuria at the White House.
“We had discussions about [the] White House. I told everybody that when Ali [Abdelaziz] called me and said ‘Hey, you’re going to fight at the White House. They gave me the offer, good check.’ I said of course, I will fight,” Makhachev told MIGHTYcast. “Next day, [UFC] called me and they said Ilia wanted them to offer some big check and they said no. For the same check, [Topuria] chose Gaethje. That’s why the fight didn’t happen.”
Islam Makhachev Gives His Honest Take on Ilia Topuria’s Loss to Justin Gaethje