For Ilia Topuria, the loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC White House five months ago proved devastating in many ways. Alongside the physical trauma, such as broken orbital bones, fractured nose, and a foot, ‘El Matador’ disclosed having a rough time dealing with the psychological aspect of the defeat.

On Thursday, ABC Diario posted a preview of its upcoming interview with Ilia Topuria on social media. There, the Georgian-Spaniard disclosed the mental impact of losing the first fight of his career to Justin Gaethje.

“I’ve been in the worst situation a fighter can possibly be in,” Topuria said. “I have experienced the worst day of my career. What’s worse than that? Dying? Was something off? That is a question I’ve had to face over the last five or six months.

“But one thing is clear: you either win or you lose, and I lost. If I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, and it was like, ‘No….this is not me.’”

Topuria didn’t hesitate to accept that the loss to Justin Gaethje was the worst phase of his career. His questions about whether something was off suggest a fighter still searching for answers. Meanwhile, the former champ admitting that he looked in the mirror and refused to identify himself showed that the defeat hit him mentally.

And it’s not hard to understand why.

Before stepping onto the White House South Lawn, Topuria was an undefeated 17-0 fighter. He had knocked out three legends back-to-back: Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. That perfect run propelled Topuria to stardom, but it also made the loss to Gaethje equally hard to absorb.

Many expected Topuria to score yet another dominant finish, and the odds massively backed the Georgian to pull off what he and others thought was inevitable. But Gaethje ended up making the impossible possible by clobbering his way to a 4th-round corner stoppage victory, scoring one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

Topuria, badly bruised from the fight, was immediately taken to the hospital. But when he woke up and saw himself in the mirror, he couldn’t recognize himself. Topuria first reflected on the mental aspect in early September, in a letter to his son Hugo.

“For many years, I knew one feeling,” Topuria said. Winning. I had fought 18 professional fights; 17 nights ended the way I wanted, and one did not. For the first time in my professional career, I had lost. That night I also discovered a side of the sport I had never experienced before. Both orbital bones were fractured, my septum broken, and my foot broken.

“I remember waking up and looking at myself in the mirror. For a few seconds, I did not recognize the face staring back at me. I thought, ‘This can’t be. This can’t be me.’ It was difficult to hold my own gaze.”

For a previously undefeated fighter like Ilia Topuria, the defeat to Gaethje was a feeling he had never known. It was his first loss, and it came in the most brutal way possible. Hence, he labeled the fight the “worst” day of his career, as it shattered his perception of invincibility.

Interestingly, Justin Gaethje compared Topuria’s mental state to that of Tony Ferguson, who ‘The Highlight’ believes had a similar story to Topuria.

‘El Cucuy’ wasn’t undefeated, but he was a considerable favorite when the two met at UFC 249. Plus, Ferguson was on a 12-fight win streak before Gaethje derailed it by defeating his opponent by 5th-round standing TKO.

Connecting the two instances, Gaethje said on the Joe Rogan Experience that he broke the “perception” of Topuria being unbeatable, and implied it would be tough for the Spaniard to recover mentally from the defeat, though he expects Topuria to bounce back eventually.

Topuria has seemingly echoed the same, as his struggle to face his own reflection shows how deeply the loss shook him. However, there is a reason ‘El Matador’ is speaking so openly about his loss. He is making a comeback.

Ilia Topuria eyes comeback around April 2027, sends a threat to rival   

Following the admission about the psychological aspect of losing to Gaethje, the host asked how he plans to return. In response, Topuria said he is going to come back a more dangerous version of himself, something that will surprise everyone, and he is looking forward to a return in April 2027.

“Like you have never seen him before,” Topuria added in the ABC interview. “From April onward is when we are considering returning. I have always been aware that in this life, not everything is a bed of roses, even though I’ve never had it before.”

Topuria previously hinted at putting his comeback in motion by posting some photos from the gym confirming his return. However, he has now revealed a proper timeline. Dana White has also confirmed that Topuria’s return is set for 2027.

As for Topuria’s opponent, the former two-division champion had only one fighter in mind: Paddy Pimblett.

“Paddy, Paddy, Paddy,” Topuria said in the same interview. “I’ll eat him like a sausage, which he is.” 

Despite the setback, Topuria is maintaining his usual bravado, a sign that he is back to his usual self. Even so, his approach against his next opponent will reveal whether he has truly recovered from the loss.