Ilia Topuria was immediately transported to the hospital following his loss at UFC Freedom 250.
On Sunday, the MMA world was sent into shock when Ilia Topuria was handed the first loss of his professional career when Justin Gaethje pulled off a monumental upset at UFC Freedom 250.
In the very first round, ‘El Matador’ was cut open by ‘The Highlight’ which was the first time in the UFC we’ve seen Topuria damaged.
Things quickly got dramatically worse as his eyes began to swell up and his face became unrecognizable, leading to his corner pulling him from the fight at the end of round four.
Dana White provides update on Topuria after hospital transport
At the end of round three, the doctor was called into the Octagon to check on ‘El Matador’s’ eyes, as his damage began to show.
It seemed as though the doctor was ready to wave the fight off, but Marc Goddard opted to give Topuria another chance and allowed him to go out into round four.
During round four, the Spaniard was seen touching his right eye, which was picked up by the broadcast team.
And just hours on from his historic loss, UFC boss Dana White attempted to provide a health update of the 29-year-old.
“Yeah, we literally had him get out of Octagon before Gaethje’s hand was even raised and sent him to the hospital,” White said at the post-fight press conference.
“Ilia is in the hospital, he’s busted up, I’m not a doctor but his eye looked like he probably has a broken orbital, I don’t know that (for sure), that’s not a fact but I’m assuming. My plans for him are to go home and rest and recover, take his time, tonight was a rough night for him, I just hope he’s healthy and good, I’m not even thinking about him fighting again,” he continued.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Due to the nature of his defeat and the fact that he didn’t get to finish the fight out, Topuria is being accused of ‘quitting’ by several stars in the MMA world.
Arman Tsarukyan initially led the criticism, which has now been backed by Islam Makhachev, who shared his reaction to his longtime rival’s first ever loss.
2026-06-15 12:00:00
