Justin Gaethje not sure Ilia Topuria will be the same after first career loss

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Justin Gaethje casts doubt on Ilia Topuria’s path back to the top following their title fight

Justin Gaethje feels that Ilia Topuria faces an uphill climb after UFC Freedom 250.

Gaethje handed Topuria his first professional loss on June 14, pulling off a memorable upset at the White House.

Despite being dropped early, Gaethje fought back and eventually forced Topuria out of the fight before the final round could begin.

Since then, questions have been raised about how ‘El Matador’ will respond to his first major defeat, especially after entering his title defence with such high confidence.

Justin Gaethje doesn’t think Ilia Topuria can recover from opponents no longer being afraid of him

Ilia Topuria was respectful in his post-fight comments after losing to Justin Gaethje at the White House. But in the lead-up to the bout, ‘El Matador’ had been vocal about his confidence, predicting an easy win to stay unbeaten.

While Gaethje has said that he didn’t see Topuria quit during the fight, he still has some serious doubts about whether his opponent will still be able to live up to expectations by becoming one of the greatest of all time.

“The odds are great against that right now,” he told Joe Rogan. “I hope he does and I know that he has the skill to be a champion again however, just like with Tony Ferguson. I didn’t break Tony Ferguson’s confidence. I changed the perception his opponents have of him and that is a huge factor when you go in there…

Before this, he was a guy that you couldn’t get through, that you wouldn’t push through you couldn’t survive with,” Gaethje continued. “Once I showed people that all you’ve got to do is get through that, nobody’s ever going to go in there thinking that he’s unbeatable again and that was his identity. That’s going to be such a tough task for him to fight people who aren’t scared of him.”

Despite what was said before the bout, ‘The Highlight’ made it clear after UFC Freedom 250 that hopes Topuria bounces back well from this setback. “I hope good things for him… We’ll see how honest he’ll be with himself.”

Throughout their conversation on JRE MMA Show #168 Gaethje said this is where Topuria went wrong before they’d even stepped inside the Octagon. The American explained how competing without expectations would play into why his opponent didn’t perform on fight night.