Islam Makhachev reacts to Justin Gaethje’s win over Ilia Topuria

Islam Makhachev took to social media to mock Ilia Topuria following the lightweight champion's shocking loss to interim titleholder Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 held at the White House on Sunday.

Topuria had entered the fight as heavy favorite, repeatedly vowing to knock Gaethje out in the first round and even claiming to possess a pre-recorded video predicting his dominant victory. Instead, Topuria quit on his stool before the fifth round after absorbing significant facial and eye damage from Gaethje's jabs, despite landing impactful body shots of his own.

Makhachev, the UFC welterweight champion, seized the moment to deliver a lesson in humility. "He who exalts himself will be humbled! There's levels in this game! Congratulations Justin, you deserve this belt more than anyone!" the Russian wrote on X. He further mocked Topuria's corner stoppage, noting sarcastically that "to quit in the biggest fight of your career is something not everybody can do."

The loss derails what had been a long-anticipated super-fight between Topuria and Makhachev. The previously undefeated Georgian-Spaniard had been eyeing a move to welterweight to challenge Makhachev for his title should he defeat Gaethje. Topuria's collapse also mirrors Gaethje's earlier dominance over Tony Ferguson in 2020, which launched Ferguson into an eight-fight losing streak from which he never recovered in the UFC.