Justin Gaethje’s coach Trevor Wittman defends Aleksandre Topuria’s stoppage of Ilia Topuria

Justin Gaethje's coach Trevor Wittman has publicly defended Aleksandre Topuria's decision to stop his brother Ilia's UFC Freedom 250 lightweight title bout against Gaethje last month.

Ilia Topuria entered the fight as a heavy favorite but found himself in deep trouble as Gaethje mounted a sustained offensive attack through the third and fourth rounds. By the end of the fourth, Ilia's vision was severely compromised, prompting Aleksandre—working his brother's corner—to force a stoppage before the fifth round began. The ringside physician had nearly intervened at the end of the third round as well.

Wittman praised Aleksandre's prioritization of his brother's safety during a recent appearance on the ONX Sport podcast. The veteran coach acknowledged that language barriers made some corner communications difficult to parse, but he interpreted Ilia's comments to indicate he was unable to continue. "Ilia's brother did the right thing to stop the fight," Wittman explained. "I took it as, Ilia was like, 'Dude I can't go on.' And when you hear that from your athlete, you have to make the right choice." Wittman emphasized that a cornerman's primary duty is protecting their fighter's wellbeing, a principle he felt Aleksandre upheld despite the high stakes of a championship bout. The stoppage preserved Ilia's long-term health while ending a lopsided final round that could have inflicted further damage.