Ilia Topuria's face without sunglasses shown in video for first time after gruesome White House injury
A video has emerged showing Ilia Topuria’s face without sunglasses for the first time since he sustained a brutal beatdown against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.
Topuria was on the receiving end of a violent beating from Gaethje, who forced the Spanish-Georgian to retire on his stool between rounds four and five and, in doing so, was crowned UFC lightweight champion.
The 29-year-old’s face appeared swollen and bloodied throughout the fight, with it later confirmed that ‘El Matador’ could not see out of either eye while also sustaining a broken nose and fractures to both orbital bones – although surgery was not required despite Topuria being rushed to hospital after the fight.
Spanish outlet Marca reported that the lightweight had sustained ‘non-displaced’ fractures, meaning the broken bone remained in its correct position rather than becoming displaced.
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“What the doctor told us was that within six to eight weeks, it should heal properly, especially because there was no displaced fracture,” he said.
“After that, for him to start wrestling again and doing things again, it’ll take a little while for it to really solidify.
“I think we’re talking about at least two to three months, easily.
“If you saw us in a rematch or another fight, it would be towards the end of the year, in December. Who knows? We’ll see.”
Then, last week, the first photographs of Topuria without sunglasses emerged and appeared to show the fighter’s injuries had cleared up, with no swelling, cuts or scars visible.
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Now (July 31), the first video of Topuria without any face covering has been posted to Instagram by Spanish businessman Tomas Laso-Argos, appearing to show the pair wrestling.
Once again, there were no apparent signs of the effects of the Gaethje fight on Topuria’s face, although his eyes still appeared red, with a small red mark on his nose.
Fans were quick to react to Topuria’s recovery on social media.
One said: “He is healed, we are so back, give us Gadzhi Omargadzhiev in Abu Dhabi.”
Another added: “True warrior mentality. Respect the grind.”
A third claimed: “Ilia Topuria just posted a close-up of his face more than a month after his fight with Justin Gaethje... and he looks fully recovered!”
A fourth commented: “Those eyes still has blood stains. Justin Gaethje worked on that face pretty well. Up next, Paddy choking Ilia Topuria out cold.”
Topuria also shared a close-up of his face.
Luke Davies