Ilia Topuria Lost Sight in Both Eyes in TKO Loss to Gaethje at UFC White House, Wants Rematch Fight

Ilia Topuria broke his silence after losing his UFC lightweight championship to Justin Gaethje in the main event of Sunday's Freedom 250 at the White House.

Topuria released a statement congratulating Gaethje and calling for an eventual rematch after he recovers. The former champ added that he lost vision in both his eyes during the fight.

Topuria's corner was forced to call off the fight against Gaethje after the fourth round. The previously undefeated knockout artist was battered in a brutal matchup that was undoubtedly the toughest of his career. Per ESPN's Andreas Hale, Gaethje was up 39-37 on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

UFC president Dana White announced after Freedom 250 that Topuria was transported to the hospital immediately after the main event. He added that he has no plans to schedule the 29-year-old for another fight anytime soon.

"We literally had him get out of the octagon before the hand was even raised and sent him to the hospital," White said at the post-fight press conference, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "Ilia's in the hospital. He's busted up. I'm not a doctor but his eye looked like he probably has a broken orbital. I don't know that. That's not a fact. I'm just assuming. My plans are for him to go home and rest and recover. Take his time and tonight was a rough night for him. I just want to make sure he's healthy and good and not even thinking about him fighting again. I just want him to go home and relax and rest and heal."

Still, Topuria maintained his confidence that he'll bounce back quickly, saying in his statement that he'll "return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous." He also directly told Gaethje, "And trust me... this story between us is far from over. We will have our rematch."