The UFC put out unedited, no-commentary footage of the body shot Ilia Topuria used to drop Justin Gaethje in the second round. The company posted the teaser on X Friday morning with the line “Behind the body shot that dropped Justin Gaethje” and pointed fans to the full Topuria vs Gaethje | No Commentary video on its YouTube channel. The clip focuses on the corners in real time, and the reaction drawing the most attention belongs to Trevor Wittman.
Championship Rounds flagged it within minutes. The account wrote on X that Wittman was smiling while Gaethje got dropped, and added a crying-laughing emoji, which is about the right response. Corners are supposed to be the most stressed people in the building. Watching a coach grin while a body shot folds the guy in front of him is unusual footage, and the clip doesn’t explain it. Maybe it was disbelief. Maybe Wittman has spent enough years in corners that his face just does its own thing. The footage shows the smile and nothing more, so I’ll leave his inner monologue to him.
The second clip lands differently. Championship Rounds, crediting the UFC, posted Aleksandre Topuria consoling Ilia afterward and described the moment as coming after Ilia’s loss to Gaethje. On the tape, Aleksandre tells his brother, “You’re the best. This is a sport. You’re a man and that’s what matters most.” That’s eight seconds of a brother doing his job, and it hits harder than most of the produced stuff the UFC releases.
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Where Topuria goes from here
Topuria is all over the news this week despite being out of the cage. He’s starring in a new Montirex ad, according to Championship Rounds. MMA Fighting asked its followers on Tuesday how interested they’d be in Topuria coaching opposite Paddy Pimblett on The Ultimate Fighter, and Pimblett has already promised that a season against Topuria would bring the ratings back, per MMA Fighting’s Morning Report. Jorge Masvidal went further. Speaking to MMA Full Mount, he argued that Topuria vs. Pimblett could fill a 100,000-seat stadium and said, “You put both of these guys together, numbers wise, this is the biggest fight the UFC can make.”
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So the fight the business side wants is Pimblett. The UFC hasn’t announced anything, and no TUF season has been confirmed. Right now it’s Pimblett lobbying, Masvidal hyping and a fan poll, which together add up to zero contracts.
Sal’s take: The UFC releasing this footage now looks like a company keeping a star’s name warm while he’s between fights. Dovy wrote on X Thursday that he misses Ilia Topuria, and plenty of people agree with him. I’ll care about the Pimblett stadium talk when there’s a date and a line I can bet. Until then, the most honest thing in this whole news cycle is Aleksandre telling his brother it’s a sport. The most baffling thing is Trevor Wittman smiling through a liver shot, and I’d pay real money for the audio of whatever he said in the next minute.
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