Merab Dvalishvili has come to Ilia Topuria’s defense after the Spaniard’s doctor-stoppage title defeat to Justin Gaethje in the UFC Freedom 250 main event.
Topuria lost the lightweight title fight by doctor stoppage at the end of Round 4, with Gaethje leading three rounds to one on the scorecards. Topuria had visible damage to both eyes and said Gaethje affected the vision in his right eye in Round 1 and his left eye by the end of Round 2.
Dvalishvili believes an early eye poke from Gaethje hampered Topuria’s vision and pointed to a key moment in Round 2 when Topuria dropped Gaethje with a body shot but then attacked a submission. “For me, Ilia is still a winner because he was winning this fight and then he was so close to finishing Justin Gaethje, second round when he dropped him with the body shot. If Ilia continued hitting him, he could finish him. But Ilia wanted a great finish and he went for triangle (choke).”
Dvalishvili also described the physical toll on Topuria, saying, “Ilia was pretty much blind, nose broken, and he was still fighting hard. For me, Ilia is still a winner. It was a great fight. Ilia really showed his heart and showed his toughness, and congratulations to Justin Gaethje, but hopefully he's not going to retire, and they will have a rematch.”
The former bantamweight champion said Topuria’s loss hit him personally: “It was really, really emotional for me. I've been depressed all this week, and I hardly slept, but Ilia will come back from this and he will be champion again.”
