Ilia Topuria Credits Brother For Saving MMA Career At UFC’s White House Card

Ilia Topuria is lucky to still have a fighting career after the damage he sustained at UFC's White House card earlier this year and he owes it all to his brother.

It's only been five months since Topuria lost his UFC lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at Freedom 250 back in June, but it certainly seems longer. Topuria was a massive betting favorite to essentially punch his way past Gaethje and cement himself as the next big superstar in the sport. While Topuria is still young enough and talented enough to reclaim his 155-pound throne his star power took a serious hit.

Fortunately, Topuria didn't sustain any career-altering injuries from his brawl with "Highlight." Gaethje did massive damage in the later rounds of the fight that basically left Topuria unrecognizable, but if it wasn't for Topuria's brother, Aleksandre Topuria, he may have left the White House lawn with permanent damage to his vision. Luckily, his brother stopped the fight before the start of the fifth round to save Topuria from any further punishment. It wasn't the most popular decision, but certainly the right one.

Topuria, who has recovered well and aiming for a return to action in early 2027 , credits his brother for saving his career that night in Washington D.C. Without him, Topuria doesn't know if he would have been able to fight again.

"If he hadn't stopped me from fighting, I probably wouldn't have been able to fight again in my life," said Topuria during a recent interview with Adam Catterall (shown above).

"I'm so grateful to my brother for deciding to stop me because I love what I'm doing. I had a bad experience, but I still have a lot ahead of me. It would be very sad to hear from a doctor or anyone that I wouldn't be able to fight anymore."