Ilia Topuria made a mistake during UFC Freedom 250 main event, says Justin Gaethje’s coach
MMA coach Trevor Wittman believes that Ilia Topuria made a critical error during the UFC Freedom 250 main event against Justin Gaethje.
As we know, Ilia Topuria lost the UFC lightweight championship on Sunday night in a dramatic main event defeat at the hands of Justin Gaethje. While Ilia certainly had his moments, especially in the second round, he ultimately had to quit on the stool at the request of his corner due to the injuries sustained to his face.
There are plenty of pundits and fans out there giving their thoughts on what exactly went wrong for Ilia Topuria, but as we know, the fight game often comes down to specific details – which is where an expert like Trevor Wittman comes in.
During a chat after the bout, Wittman had the following to say about Ilia Topuria’s loss and the one big mistake he made.
Trevor Wittman discusses Ilia Topuria’s shortcomings
“That heat, that humidity, Justin’s a gangster. Overcoming the body shot, I think Ilia made a big mistake there, taking Justin to the ground,” Wittman said.“ I think that was a big mistake on Ilia’s part, going to the ground. Because Justin was really hurt. He was hurt.
“And Justin’s just a durable guy. He’s very smart in situations. He knows when to take breaks. There’s times in the fight — the third and the fourth round — where I was like, ‘Stop taking breaks! You’ve got to fight!’ But easier said than done.”
“I think Justin is one of those guys that I think no one deserves it more than him,” Wittman said. “For this platform, and how many times he’s fought for the title, and just put it up on a pedestal. Just go out there and fight.”
Quotes via MMA Fighting
There are plenty of people out there who will doubt that Topuria can ever truly bounce back from this and be the killer that he once was inside the cage, but based on his ability to survive and even thrive at times last weekend, we would say that he will be just fine as he begins his road to recovery.
