Ilia Topuria didn’t come out for the fifth round of his UFC 250 bout after taking heavy punishment through four rounds.
Justin Gaethje left his opponent bloodied and with severe swelling around both eyes at the event, which took place at the White House on Sunday night.
Topuria’s corner made the call to stop it before he could take any more damage.
Still, some believe that the decision came a round too late. Medical professional Brian Sutterer felt that Topuria had already taken enough punishment by then.
Between the third and fourth rounds, Ilia Topuria told his team that he couldn’t see clearly. Referee Marc Goddard then brought in the UFC doctor to check on him, and after failing a simple eye test, it looked like the fight was about to be stopped.
Doctor questions decision to let Topuria start round four
The doctor seemed ready to stop it, but after a discussion with another ringside official and some input from Goddard, Topuria was allowed to continue.
Topuria argued against the stoppage before another ringside doctor stepped in and allowed the fight to continue following some encouragement from Goddard.
“I think Marc Goddard was just stepping in to say ‘No, I think this fight should continue’, so it very clearly looked like an instance where he’s overruling what the [doctor] is recommending.”
Sutterer added: “Per letter of the law, this fight should’ve been stopped. It seemed very clear that Topuria was not able to track [the doctor’s finger]. If you’re not able to track, you can’t see. That should be pretty black and white per the letter of the law, of saying that the fight should end.”
“If Topuria says in that instance, ‘I wanna fight even if I can’t see’, maybe you just let him go fight,” Sutterer said. “That’s fine, but that goes against the whole purpose of why the doctor is there. I don’t like this idea of just pulling in the doctor, almost for show. ‘Let’s evaluate, let’s see, but at the end of the day, we are still gonna let him fight.
“I think Goddard is a great referee, so I would love to hear his side of this. Was it just miscommunication? What happened here? What was going on because it very clearly looks like Marc Goddard chose to overrule what the ringside doctor said to do, and that goes against the purpose of having ringside doctors there, which is certainly concerning.”
Ilia Topuria was taken to the hospital after the fight
Ilia Topuria was escorted out of the White House and sent straight to a local hospital after his defeat to Justin Gaethje. Dana White spoke about Topuria’s condition during his post-fight press conference on Sunday.
“Yeah, we literally had him get out of the Octagon before Gaethje’s hand was even raised and sent him to the hospital,” the UFC CEO said.
“Ilia is in the hospital, he’s busted up. I’m not a doctor, but his eye looked like he probably has a broken orbital. I don’t know that (for sure), that’s not a fact, but I’m assuming.
“My plans for him are to go home and rest and recover, take his time. Tonight was a rough night for him. I just hope he’s healthy and good. I’m not even thinking about him fighting again.”
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