Ilia Topuria gets unexpected support from Justin Gaethje after UFC Freedom 250 defeat

Justin Gaethje may have taken Ilia Topuria’s UFC lightweight title, but he is not writing off the former champion. Just weeks after handing Topuria the first loss of his professional MMA career at UFC Freedom 250, Gaethje publicly backed his rival and said he still believes the Georgian-Spanish star can beat anyone in the division.

At the same time, Gaethje’s longtime coach Trevor Wittman offered a different perspective. While praising Topuria’s talent and achievements, Wittman made it clear that he does not believe the former champion should get an immediate rematch. Instead, he feels Topuria needs time to recover, regroup and work his way back into title contention.

Justin Gaethje says Ilia Topuria remains one of the best fighters at lightweight

Gaethje’s victory over Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 was one of the biggest results of the year.

The American stopped Topuria after four hard-fought rounds and ended the undefeated run that had made the former champion one of the sport’s biggest stars. The win also crowned Gaethje as UFC lightweight champion. Since that fight, talk has already shifted toward what comes next. Several top contenders, including Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan, have been linked to possible title opportunities, making an immediate rematch for Topuria look less likely.

Still, Gaethje showed plenty of respect when discussing his former rival on Episode 17 of the What Hones You Show podcast on the ONX Sports YouTube channel. Rather than focusing on their rivalry, he spoke about Topuria’s ability inside the cage.“I hope nothing but the best for him. He’s very, very skilled. He’s got the skills to beat any of these guys. I’m excited to watch it.”The comments surprised some fans given how heated the build-up to their fight had become.

But Gaethje’s message was simple: one loss does not change how dangerous Topuria is.

Trevor Wittman believes Ilia Topuria should rebuild before seeking a rematch

Wittman agreed that Topuria remains an elite fighter, but he does not think the former champion should jump straight back into a title fight. Speaking on the same podcast, the respected coach said Topuria’s biggest challenge now is dealing with the aftermath of the loss. In his view, the issue is not simply that Topuria lost the belt.

It is the amount of damage he absorbed during the fight and the mental reset that comes with suffering a first defeat.

“And I feel like Ilia made that mistake. Do I think he comes out better in the rematch? I’m not even gonna say that because I don’t think he deserves that.”Wittman then explained what he believes Topuria should do next.“I think he needs to go back, get on a win spree, and recover himself because that was a detrimental loss – not because of the way he lost; it’s the damage that was done.”For now, Gaethje appears focused on the next challenger, while Topuria faces the task of rebuilding after the first setback of his MMA career. Even so, both Gaethje and Wittman made one thing clear: they still see Topuria as a major force in the lightweight division.