Ahead of the bout, Ilia Topuria’s victory at UFC Freedom 250 seemed almost certain, considering he had knocked out three legends in a row to earn the favorite tag. However, Justin Gaethje, in a remarkable upset, proved to be a much tougher challenge than any of ‘El Matador’s previous opponents. In a grueling, bloody showdown, ‘The Highlight’ significantly battered the Georgian-Spaniard’s face to win the title while leaving the Octagon bloodied and Topuria disfigured. Now, more details have emerged regarding a potentially serious injury the former lightweight champ might have suffered.

According to UFC commentator Joe Rogan, the former lightweight champion may have likely suffered a broken orbital bone during his four-round battle with Justin Gaethje.  

“Who knows what kind of damage he took, because we could be looking at a broken orbital bone,” Rogan said during the post-fight coverage with Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik. “We have seen a lot of broken orbital bones. We know what it looks like. That’s what it looked like, and it looked like that.”

UFC legend Daniel Cormier concurred with Rogan’s assessment. According to DC, the way Ilia Topuria’s eyes swelled up and turned “black and blue and closed,” it is very likely the now 17-1 fighter has suffered an orbital bone fracture of some sort.

So far, Topuria’s team has not officially confirmed whether the former champion actually suffered a fractured orbital bone. However, UFC featherweight contender Sodiq Yusuff also suggested on social media that Topuria may have sustained an orbital fracture.

Soon after the bout, the 29-year-old was rushed to a local hospital in Washington, D.C., for treatment as well as a precautionary CT scan of his head and face. Looking at the damage the newly crowned champion dealt to Ilia Topuria, it’s very likely that the Spaniard would be sidelined from competition for a considerable amount of time.

Throughout the fight, Gaethje landed a total of 79 head strikes, targeting the Georgian-Spaniard’s entire face, compared to Topuria’s 55. Also, much of the visible swelling appeared around the eye socket area, causing him to lose much of his vision by the third round. The attending ringside physician even told referee Marc Goddard that he would like the bout stopped. However, on Topuria’s insistence, Goddard overruled the physician and allowed the fight to continue.

Though he looked much better at the beginning of the fourth round, things went downhill soon. Both men traded heavy flurries. But in a tough exchange, Gaethje landed an agonizing uppercut to Topuria’s eye and forced him down. The 37-year-old then closed the round with a punishing knee to his ribs that sealed his fate. Back on the stool, Topuria’s team threw in the towel, ending the bout and crowning a new king of the 155 lbs division.

Regardless, if Topuria did indeed suffer a fractured orbital bone, he could be sidelined for several months. However, the exact recovery timeline would ultimately depend on the severity of the injury and whether surgery is required. While a first for him, Ilia Topuria would not be the first fighter to suffer such damage at the hands of Gaethje.

Tony Ferguson famously sustained a broken orbital bone during his clash with Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, which is considered one of the classic fights of all time.

Now, as the former lightweight champion remains in the hospital, the newly crowned 155-pound champion has already reacted to Topuria’s title loss. 

Justin Gaethje blames Ilia Topuria’s mindset for the UFC White House loss

For the most part, Ilia Topuria has remained highly confident in his skills and ability to knock out anybody on the planet. He also largely proved that belief by knocking out Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira back to back. However, Justin Gaethje believes Topuria developed a certain kind of mentality along the way, which eventually contributed to this crushing loss.

“I’m such a fan of this man, but where do you go from here?” Gaethje said in the post-fight interview. “It’s gonna be a very tough climb back for him. Well, I have never had the mindset he has. I have never thought myself to be unbeatable or infallible.

“I knew, I said it from day 1, I’m gonna get knocked out the way I fight with how crazy this sport is. Again, I don’t wanna say anything bad about this guy. He was a world champion, but he is in a hospital right now. And I’m not.”

Regardless of how Topuria lost the fight, the bottom line is that Justin Gaethje is now the lightweight champion. But as the former champion looks to recover from this tough loss and his injuries, it will also be intriguing to see what the UFC has in store for the newly crowned titleholder.