Justin Gaethje disputes claims Ilia Topuria quit despite pinpointing moment his ‘spirit’ was taken

Justin Gaethje says he didn’t see Ilia Topuria quit during their 4 round war.

Gaethje earned one other two post-fight bonuses after producing the sort of fight that fans have come to expect from him contained in the Octagon.

Despite displaying incredible toughness through the bout, the likes of Paddy Pimblett have accused Topuria of quitting after he didn’t make it to the ultimate round.

‘The Highlight’ has a track record for pushing opponents to their limits and while he did just that on Sunday night, he didn’t see ‘El Matador’ truly break.

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Ilia Topuria was transported to the hospital after taking significant damage in the primary lack of his skilled profession.

Despite being down on the scorecards when the fight was stopped, ‘El Matador’ still had some very strong moments against Justin Gaethje.

‘The Highlight’ praised his opponent when reflecting on the fight, revealing that the body shots he took within the second round were still impacting him on the post-fight press conference.

“It still hurts without delay,” he said. “That hurts, my hand hurts, my jaw hurts. He’s a formidable opponent. He’s so good and so dangerous. I didn’t see him quit. I saw them almost stop the fight at the top of the third round and I used to be like, ‘No way’. He’s back on the market and back to being dangerous.”

Despite dismissing the narrative that Topuria quit, Gaethje does think that him with the ability to survive a barrage within the second round played a giant part within the fight.

“When he didn’t get the finish at the top of the second round, I believe it really took his spirit.”

After losing his belt and undefeated record, what’s next for Ilia Topuria?

The fight was incredibly competitive within the early rounds, with Topuria bouncing back in a giant way within the second to reply a robust start from Gaethje.

Nonetheless, the third round completely modified the course of the title unification clash, with Topuria getting dropped and searching in desperate need of a second wind.

He was in a position to recuperate and produce a significantly better display within the fourth round, however the damage had already been done at this point.

An update on Topuria’s health hasn’t been issued on the time of writing.