Joe Rogan has declared Justin Gaethje’s savage upset win over Ilia Topuria the greatest fight he has ever witnessed – but Aussie UFC champ Alex Volkanovski believes “El Matador” would win if the pair ran it back.
The MMA world is still trying to make sense of UFC Freedom 250, where Justin Gaethje pulled off one of the biggest boilovers in recent memory by battering Ilia Topuria before forcing a fourth-round corner stoppage on the White House lawn.
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The lightweight blockbuster was an instant classic, with both men having their moments before Topuria was left battered, bloodied and hospitalised after suffering the first loss of his UFC career.
“That was the wildest experience that I’ve ever had in my 20 whatever years of calling combat sports,” Rogan said on his podcast.
“There’s nothing even close. Nothing even close. It was the greatest night of fights of all time. And it was the only night in the history of the sport where every single fight ended by knockout.”
Rogan was particularly blown away by the main event.
“The main event was literally the greatest fight of all time,” he said.
“Because the guy who won it, Justin Gaethje, was in many books a 6-1 underdog – which is crazy odds for a guy who was interim lightweight champ, fought the best of the best, one of the best to ever do it, BMF champion…
“That’s how good Ilia Topuria is. Illia Topuria is in many people’s eyes the most skilled of the new generation and the new generation is most skilled of all time.”
While official viewership figures have yet to be released, Rogan also revealed the staggering numbers he had heard behind the scenes.
“It is one of the most-watched sports events in the history of the world,” he said.
“I don’t know what the total overall views are as of now, but I know that it was well over 150 million just by Monday.
“Just by Monday, so that’s like the night of, and then people that watched the replay but now between then and now, it’s probably another 50 or 60 million people that watched it.”
TOPURIA CALLS FOR REMATCH
As the praise continues to pour in for the White House slobberknocker, Topuria is already focused on revenge.
According to his close friend, the Spaniard has called for an immediate rematch with Gaethje and is pushing for the UFC to take the blockbuster showdown to Spain.
“This morning I was with Ilia, he has fractures in his orbital bones, in his nose,” Pablo Motos told El Hormiguero.
“This morning they were treating his wounds and he still couldn’t open his eyes properly. Then we were talking about something we’re gonna do this summer, making jokes, and then he said a phrase I loved.
“He looks at me with his eyes closed and says, ‘Champions, when we fall, we fall hard.’ They’re already looking toward the future. He was telling me, ‘I’d love to do the rematch in Spain with Gaethje.’”
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VOLK BACKS TOPURIA IN REMATCH
The Aussie MMA legend was cageside on Sunday and admitted he was stunned to see his former rival suffer the first defeat of his UFC career.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show this week, Volk was asked what went wrong for Topuria and pointed to a combination of factors — while also giving plenty of credit to Gaethje.
“A bit of everything,” Volkanovski said.
“I thought Ilia was very aggressive. I think he tried to rush everything very early, and that’s why he took damage pretty early.
“Even though he had success in the earlier rounds, that damage was already accumulating. He started getting a little busted up straight away.
“…It was a risk that Ilia took. That was a choice he made. It could have paid off for him. You’ve seen him – he did hurt Justin a few times, but Justin just did a great job to survive and be just that little bit safe enough to do work.”
Despite the devastating loss, Volk believes Topuria will learn from the experience and come back a better fighter.
“If he fights the right fight, he will learn a lot from that. Ilia wins the rematch,” Volk said.
“That’s no knock on Justin at all. Obviously, Ilia was a favorite for a reason.
“I just think that Ilia, if he doesn’t rush as much, fights at a little bit better distance, and then does what he usually does, sets up nice traps, he’ll eventually find him.
“But being so aggressive is sort of what cost him, I believe.”
MAKHACHEV SET FOR GARRY TITLE CLASH
While Topuria appears focused on securing a rematch with Gaethje, one dream fight seems to have slipped out of reach.
The UFC this week confirmed reigning welterweight champ Islam Makhachev will defend his crown against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330, effectively shelving any prospect of a blockbuster showdown with Topuria in the near future.
The promotion announced on Thursday morning that Makhachev and Garry will headline the August 16 event at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena.
In the co-main event, women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern will put her title on the line against top contender Gillian Robertson.
Makhachev, who many people regard as the best MMA fighter on the planet, claimed the title from Aussie Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322.