Justin Gaethje defied the odds at UFC Freedom 250, defeating Ilia Topuria in a back-and-forth war to claim undisputed lightweight gold.
Gaethje found success early in the opening round, feigning a takedown attempt and catching Topuria with an uppercut that cut the defending champ open early. Gaethje continued to connect with the uppercut, but ‘El Matador’ started to take over in the latter half of the stanza, piecing up Gaethje and pouring on the pressure near the fence.
That trend continued in the second as Topuria unleashed an onslaught of strikes targeting Gaethje’s body. One particular liver shot sent Gaethje to the mat, allowing Topuria to move into full mount and fish for an arm bar. Gaethje defended and ultimately made it out of the round, but all the momentum was in favor of Topuria after 10 minutes.
The tide started to turn in the third after Gaethje landed a straight left followed by a booming right hand that put Topuria on the mat. Gaethje looked to lock in a d’arce choke, but Topuria survived and made it back to his feet. From there, it was all Gaethje, who continued to punish the lightweight champ with a series of nasty right hands.
Following the third round, the cageside physician stepped in to take a look at Topuria’s eyes, which were practically swollen shut. Topuria could be heard saying he could not see, but ultimately opted to continue.
Topuria appeared to be struggling with his sight, but that didn’t stop him from cracking Gaethje with a big right hand near the halfway point of the fourth. Still, it was Gaethje who carried the momentum in the penultimate round.
Gaethje landed an uppercut that had Topuria reeling, though an instant replay later revealed that it appeared to be an accidental thumb to the eye. Topuria secured a takedown late in the round and mounted Gaethje, but ‘The Highlight’ scrambled his way out of danger and back to his feet. Topuria attempted another takedown, but Gaethje sprawled and gained top control with just under 30 seconds left in the round.
A brutal knee to Topuria’s body capped off a relatively dominant round for Gaethje.
As Topuria made his way to the stool, it was clear that ‘El Matador’ was in no condition to continue. Topuria retired on his stool, bringing an end to the bout and making Justin Gaethje an undisputed lightweight world champion for the first time in his UFC career.
Official Result: Justin Gaethje def. Ilia Topuria via TKO (retirement) at 5:00 of Round 4 to win the undisputed UFC lightweight world championship.
