UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje’s longtime coach, Trevor Wittman, said he noticed why Ilia Topuria “gets super flat” in his fights.
Gaethje, of course, pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in MMA history when he finished Topuria via fourth-round TKO due to corner stoppage in the main event of UFC Freedom 250.
After winning the first round with his striking, Gaethje lost the second round when Topuria took him down and grappled with him. Gaethje survived the ground onslaught and then won the third and fourth rounds, systematically breaking down Topuria with heavy strikes to force the TKO stoppage.
But while Gaethje ultimately prevailed, there were some sketchy moments in the fight, especially in the second round, when Topuria was dominating him on the mat.
However, Gaethje’s team says that was all part of the plan.
Trevor Wittman Noticed Ilia Topuria Gets Tired When He Grapples
Speaking to “THE FIGHT With Teddy Atlas,” Wittman said that when he did his tape study on Topuria, he noticed that when the Georgian grappled with his opponents, he would get tired.
So, when Gaethje survived Topuria’s ground attack, Wittman knew that Team Gaethje would be in the driver’s seat, since Topuria got exhausted and was not able to defend himself.
“In that fight, yes, there was a time where I told him to push forward and now we’ve got to be on his shadow and this is where we break him and that was truly our strategy. I’ve seen in many fights watching Ilia, after he grapples, he gets very tired. He gets super flat. He gets ploddy with his feet. There’s no faints, there’s no on the ball of the foot and being fast and athletic. It’s more heavy, heavy, heavy. Walking in the sand,” Wittman said (h/t Bloody Elbow).
Ilia Topuria Started as a Grappler
Although he is known mainly as a knockout artist to UFC fans, Topuria actually began his MMA career as a grappling-heavy fighter.
Before he joined the UFC, Topuria opened up his MMA career with his first seven wins coming by submission. But after he joined the UFC, he has only won one fight by submission, as he typically prefers to stand and bang since he has hammers in his fists.
That being said, he has grappled in a few of his fights, such as in his UFC debut against Youssef Zalal, a fight he won by a close decision. After that fight, the only bout in which Topuria really pursued grappling was when he submitted Bryce Mitchell. It’s possible that Topuria himself felt what Wittman saw in that he got tired in the fights that he grappled in.
Ultimately, when Topuria fought Gaethje, he thought that he could submit him on the ground, and he took the risk that he wouldn’t get tired if he did grapple him. In the end, though, Wittman’s theory was proven correct when Topuria got tired from all the grappling he did against Gaethje, which led to his demise in the end.
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