Justin Gaethje and Coach Analyze Ilia Topuria’s Reaction Under Pressure
Justin Gaethje and his head coach have been watching Ilia Topuria’s past fights to get a deeper understanding of the “El Matador” puzzle.
Next weekend, interim lightweight champion Gaethje will face reigning 155-pound titleholder Topuria in the main event of UFC Freedom 250.
“The Highlight” has already discussed his game plan in previous interviews. Gaethje plans to control the momentum and go forward against Topuria on June 14, as the 37-year-old believes Topuria’s former opponents got caught while moving backward and were thus sent to the shadow realm. To avoid sharing the same fate, he plans to move forward, believing that’s the key to defeating “El Matador.”
Justin Gaethje’s head coach, Trevor Wittman, Breaks Down the One Tendency He’s noticed in Ilia Topuria
Justin Gaethje’s coach, Trevor Wittman, has some advice and significant insight for his pupil before the title unification bout. Recently, Gaethje and Wittman watched Topuria’s fight with Jai Herbert, which the Georgian-Spaniard won by knockout in Round 2.
This 2022 fight between Topuria and Herbert was an absolute slugfest. Topuria was outstriked early in the bout and faced serious adversity, but he kept pressing forward. After backing “Black Country Banger” up against the cage and hurting him with a body shot in Round 2, he unleashed a devastating right hook that knocked Herbert out cold, even before he hit the canvas.
In that fight, “El Matador” was dropped by a head kick, but as soon as Herbert looked for the finish, the former caught his leg and took him down. Reacting to that moment, Gaethje’s head coach recently said:
“Sometimes he’ll wrestle, and usually when he does, it’s because he’s been hurt.”
Next, Trevor Wittman said that whenever Topuria commits to combinations, he “throws everything at 100%,” and Gaethje needs to respect that.
Wittman added that as Justin Gaethje’s head coach, his current job is to understand and identify patterns by studying past footage as to why Topuria often resorts to wrestling when he’s hurt, so he can identify the triggers behind those reactions, as the goal is to understand Topuria’s game without getting drawn into fighting the fight that suits “El Matador” best. Lastly, the founder of ONX Sports added:
“We are not gonna fight his fight. We wanna fight our fight. Ilia is a superstar, but he’s 100% human, and we’re going to show him that night.”
Check out Justin Gaethje’s coach, Trevor Wittman’s comments below:
