Justin Gaethje finally achieved his dream in the UFC White House main event.
An automatic first ballot UFC Hall of Famer when he retires, Gaethje didn’t want his career to end without becoming undisputed champion and he finally reached that goal while pulling off one of the most stunning upsets in history with a stoppage victory over previously undefeated Ilia Topuria on Sunday.
Following a tough start to the fight, Gaethje just found a way to dig deep and he really started pouring on the punishment to hurt Topuria in the third round. With both eyes bruised, cut and nearly closed, Topuria kept trying to fight back but Gaethje was just dishing out so much damage that he was really pulling away late in the fight.
A final knee to the ribs just before the horn sounded sent Topuria stumbling to his corner and his coaches made the decision that it was better to live to fight another day. The stoppage crowned Gaethje as the undisputed lightweight champion as Topuria suffered the first loss of his career.
“I’m from America. 250 years ago we were way bigger than 6-to-1 dogs and look at us thriving now!” Gaethje said after defying the odds on Sunday. “I know that was absolutely legendary because I cannot even believe it.
“My durability, my tenacity and my heart will carry through those first two rounds and nobody can outwork me in round three and especially the championship rounds four and five. I owed him that [body shot] because he hurt me in my liver so bad. Hard work, baby. I am made for these moments. This sport was made for me. I’ve shown you why. I’m the most consistent, most exciting guy that’s ever been in this cage. Unmatched, I’m telling you.”
Gaethje admitted afterwards that he went into this fight believing that he might get embarrassed but that actually gave him the strength to pull of the win over Topuria, who has looked almost unbeatable since first arriving in the UFC.
“I told myself I was going to lose,” Gaethje said. “I told myself I was going to get embarrassed so I could go to my most primal place and dig deep and I had to. That guy had me in trouble. He had me rocked. Rocked my chin. Smoked my liver and I stuck in it.”
A fast start from Gaethje saw him jabbing away at Topuria before closing the distance to grab the clinch where he threw several stiff uppercuts. Topuria fired back with a devastating right hand that just coulnd’t miss but Gaethje absorbed the damage well.
Topuria was bloodied over his right eye from the repeated punches and Gaethje unloaded a huge right hand that also clipped the champion. Topuria kept moving forward and that’s when he blasted Gaethje with a nasty combination that seemingly rattled the human highlight reel.
But even when Topuria had Gaethje trapped against the cage, the lightweights were just trading bombs until the horn sounded to end the round.
On the restart, Topuria made a good adjustment to draw out Gaethje’s jab and then counter with his power punches. But Gaethje stayed composed and hammered Topuria with another huge uppercut.
Topuria really started digging to the body and Gaethje was fighting back by throwing haymakers.
That led to Topuria once again trapping Gaethje against the cage and he really started battering to the body. An uppercut and another nasty shot to the body put Gaethje down as Topuria rushed to get the finish.
Topuria managed to get into the mount, trying for an armbar and a triangle choke but Gaethje found a way to survive until the round came to a close.
As the third round got underway, Topuria was noticeably slower and Gaethje was stepping forward, throwing leg kicks and jabbing away at the champion. Gaethje then scored with a lead jab and then he hammered Topuria with a thunderous right hand that put the Spaniard down on the canvas.
The crowd erupted as Gaethje looked for the finish but Topuria held on before the fight eventually got back to the feet. Gaethje followed with a pair of staggering right hands that had Topuria on rubber legs.
Between rounds, the doctor checked on Topuria, whose left eye was badly bruised and almost closed but the fight was allowed to continue.
Gaethje opened the fourth round with another battering right hand before tossing Topuria to the canvas for a moment. That was followed by another huge combination from Gaethje as he continued damaging Topuria in every exchange.
Another uppercut from Gaethje had Topuria grabbing his right eye and it appeared a bone was protruding from that side of his face. But then Topuria managed to get a takedown as he got on top of Gaethje but it was brief success as the one-time All-American wrestler scrambled back to his feet.
Just before the horn sounded, Gaethje unloaded a huge knee to the body and Topuria went to his corner, bloodied and battered after absorbing so much punishment. A second later, Topuria’s coaches waved off the fight and would not allow him to return for the fifth round.
It was one of the most unreal performances in UFC history as Gaethje conquered the unconquerable and now holds that long elusive undisputed lightweight championship. Gaethje said for years that was his end goal so does this mean this could also be his final fight?
“I promised my mom, I wouldn’t make a decision tonight,” Gaethje said about potentially retiring.
As for Topuria, he has to return home and lick his wounds after promising a devastating knockout in less than two minutes but he ended up absorbing more damage in this fight than potentially anything he’s accumulated throughout his entire career. Topuria is still one of the best in the world but Gaethje dished out a huge dose of humility in the UFC White House main event.
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