Justin Gaethje may have beaten the breaks out of Ilia Topuria. Still, the cageside doctor is facing criticism for trying to save the Spaniard’s life. After what is now being called the ‘biggest upset in modern UFC history,’ Daniel Cormier, on his YouTube channel, has criticized the cageside doctor at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday for trying to stop the fight. 

“Between the third and fourth round, it was some of the craziest stuff I’ve ever seen,” Cormier said in his video. “I couldn’t imagine the doctor stopping the fight and then… referee Marc Goddard having the experience to say, ‘I’m going to let these guys continue.’ Inexperienced doctor, experienced referee that said, ‘No, it can’t end like this. You’ve got to let them fight.’ 

“Ilia wanted to fight. Justin wanted to fight. And they let him fight, and it turned out the way that it did.”

The doctor’s intervention that Cormier is talking about came before the fourth round. By this point, Topuria was unrecognizable after taking a severe beating from Gaethje. His eyes were bleeding and swollen to the point where it looked like he couldn’t see. But as Daniel Cormier claimed, Goddard let the fight move forward after Topuria got to rest for an additional minute. 

But the fourth round made things even worse. Gaethje landed a crushing knee to Topuria’s rib near the end of the fourth round. Topuria somehow made it back to his stool but couldn’t return to the fight. His younger brother, Aleksandre Topuria, wanted the fight to continue. However, one of the other corner men for Topuria called it, and the fight was stopped. 

And Cormier also doubled down on his criticism of the doctor, highlighting that Topuria did well in the fourth round. 

“Honestly, I thought the fourth round was one of his better rounds after Justin started to take over, but it was all about JG.”

But the reality of the matter is that the doctor was trying to prevent permanent damage that may have stopped Topuria from fighting in the future. And doctors’ stoppages aren’t anything new. During the Joaquin Buckley vs. Colby Covington fight in December 2024, the cageside physician halted the contest at 4:42 of the third round because of severe damage and a worsening cut around Covington’s right eye.

How is that any different from this one? It may have been the main event for the biggest UFC event in history, but the fighter’s health comes first. Not to mention, after the third round, ‘The Highlight’ appeared to be in the lead anyway. Topuria had done well in the second, but the first and third rounds belonged to the American lightweight. Allowing the fourth round only made things even more dangerous for Topuria. 

But the doctor isn’t the only one facing blame in this case. Ilia Topuria has also faced criticism for quitting on the stool. Paddy Pimblett, who has had a long-running rivalry with ‘El Matador,’ took to X and claimed that the Spaniard quit the fight on the stool. He pointed to his own fight against ‘The Highlight’ in January, boasting about going the distance despite losing. 

But Ilia Topuria has since broken his silence, which seems to suggest that the doctor was right.

Ilia Topuria claims he was blind after the second round

Right after the fight ended, Ilia Topuria was transported to a local hospital for precautionary checkups. Joe Rogan and Dana White suggested that the former lightweight champion had suffered an orbital fracture. This was proven right by a report from AS Mas Deportes. However, they revealed that Topuria wouldn’t need surgery. 

Yet what makes the doctor’s suggestion to stop the fight after the third round correct is what Topuria himself revealed on social media in his first statement since the loss. In a post congratulating ‘The Highlight’ for his win, Ilia Topuria revealed that by the end of the second round, he had lost vision in both of his eyes. 

“… You took the sight from my right eye in the first round, and by the end of the second, from my left too,” he wrote. “… I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous. And trust me… this story between us is far from over. We will have our rematch.”

Topuria now finds himself in a precarious position. Having been the dominant force in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, Topuria’s devastating defeat to a man who previously lost to fighters Topuria has already defeated makes his future uncertain. Only time will tell what the Spanish-Georgian fighter decides to do next.