Justin Gaethje pulled off a massive upset against Ilia Topuria at the UFC’s highly anticipated event at the White House on Sunday night.
The American earned a TKO victory at the end of the fourth round of the UFC Freedom 250 main event to become the new undisputed lightweight champion in Washington. Gaethje entered the fight as the interim champ and successfully unified the titles.
“I prayed so much for this opportunity, to do something legendary, and I know that was absolutely legendary – because I cannot even believe it,” Gaethje said in his postfight interview.
Gaethje handed Topuria the first loss of his professional MMA career. Topuria’s record now sits at 17-1.
The UFC held the unprecedented fight card on the White House South Lawn to celebrate the United States’ upcoming 250th anniversary. Over 4,000 people attended the fight, including President Donald Trump, and an estimated 80,000 fans watched at a viewing party on The Ellipse.
Topuria’s corner stopped the main event after Gaethje dished out a ton of punishment in the later stages of the bout. Topuria’s face was swollen and covered in blood by the end.
Gaethje, a two-time interim lightweight champion, finally captured the undisputed title that eluded him for years. The 37-year-old was challenging for the undisputed 155-pound belt for the third time after previous losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 and Charles Oliveira in 2022. Gaethje is the oldest fighter to win the undisputed lightweight championship.
Gaethje won the interim title – and earned another shot at the undisputed belt – with a unanimous decision win over Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January. Topuria took a brief hiatus from the sport due to personal issues.
Gaethje had to overcome some early adversity to beat Topuria in Sunday’s main event, nearly getting finished in the second round.
“I knew I was gonna have to get through the first round,” Gaethje said. “His skills are unmatched when he’s fresh. But my durability, my tenacity, and my heart will carry me through those first couple rounds, and nobody can outwork me in Round 3 and especially the championship rounds.”
After a competitive opening round, Topuria dominated Gaethje in the second. Topuria ripped heavy shots to his body and eventually dropped him with one of them. Topuria got on top and advanced to full mount multiple times. He even attempted to submit Gaethje with an armbar, but Gaethje escaped. Topuria landed ground-and-pound and left Gaethje in all sorts of trouble after 10 minutes of action.
“That guy had me in trouble,” Gaethje said. “He had me rocked, rocked my chin, smoked my liver, and I stuck with it.”
Gaethje turned the tide in a big way in the third round. In the first minute or two, Topuria seemed content to take the round off as Gaethje peppered him with punches. And then Gaethje clocked Topuria with a right hand, dragged him to the ground, and tried to lock up a submission of his own. Back on the feet, Gaethje continued to march forward and batter Topuria with heavy shots.
Between the third and fourth rounds, Topuria appeared to tell the cageside doctor that he couldn’t see out of his eye, though the fight ultimately continued.
Topuria tried to rally in the fourth, taking Gaethje down and getting into full mount with a minute left. But Gaethje dished out enough damage in the stand-up department to force Topuria’s corner to end the fight. Gaethje led 39-37 on all three scorecards when the fight ended.
Gaethje made light of the fact that his face was barely bruised after the Fight of the Year contender.
“Look at my face,” Gaethje said. “I got some thick-ass skin, I’ll tell you that. Something’s wrong with my face. It needs to be studied.”
“The Highlight” is riding a three-fight winning streak and hasn’t lost since facing Max Holloway at UFC 300 in April 2024.
He was noncommittal about his future in the sport after Sunday’s win.
“I promised my mom I wouldn’t make a decision tonight,” Gaethje said.
Topuria was defending the lightweight title for the first time. The 29-year-old Georgian-Spaniard knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round at UFC 317 last June to become the new champion. Topuria is also a former featherweight champion and one of 11 two-division titleholders in UFC history.
Topuria had won nine straight fights since his UFC debut in 2020, including seven inside the distance. He was ranked No. 2 on the men’s pound-for-pound list coming into the fight with Gaethje, only below welterweight champion – and former lightweight titleholder – Islam Makhachev.
Topuria’s loss shakes up the lightweight division in a major way. Arman Tsarukyan has the strongest case for the next title shot, though Oliveira – who submitted Gaethje in the first round of their May 2022 bout – is also in the mix after dominating Max Holloway to win the BMF title in March.
