Outside Source
“El Matador” relinquished the lightweight crown to Gaethje in the UFC White House headliner on Sunday night, falling to his American adversary via fourth-round technical knockout when his corner waved off the fight. After looking nearly invincible for the majority of his professional tenure, Topuria was bloodied and battered by one of the sport’s most respected veterans.
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The Georgian-Spaniard acknowledged as much in a post on Instagram.
“Justin, congratulations. You said you’d leave your mark on my face… and you did,” Topuria wrote. “You took the sight from my right eye in the first round, and by the end of the second, from my left too.
“No excuses. I had one of the best camps of my life. I came in sharp, prepared, and ready. Last night was your night. That’s the nature of this game. Glory and pain walk side by side.”
Another Chapter Yet to Come?
Topuria emerged as one of the UFC’s biggest stars during a run that saw him win his first nine promotional outings. During that run, he captured both featherweight and lightweight gold — finishing Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in his last three bouts prior to Sunday night. A victory over Gaethje might have sent Topuria to the welterweight division in pursuit of a third belt and a matchup with Islam Makhachev. Instead, “El Matador” appears to be targeting a rematch with Gaethje down the road.
“I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous,” Topuria wrote. “And trust me… this story between us is far from over. We will have our rematch.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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