Justin Gaethje exposed Ilia Topuria's major weakness, claims former UFC Lightweight Champion

Former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar was proven correct when Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria at UFC 250 to claim the lightweight title. Edgar, who was the ex-155-pound king and witnessed Gaethje's shocking MMA victory, recently won a bout on the Real American Freestyle mat against Clay Guida at RAF 11.

A significant, and largely unexpected, shift in power occurred at UFC 250 when Gaethje dominated the previously undefeated Topuria, who retired on his stool during their June encounter. On that pivotal night, Edgar was present with another figure intertwined with the history of the UFC lightweight title, Eddie Alvarez, at a viewing party for the fight where Justin Gaethje secured his third bid for lineal gold.

Many people considered Gaethje's victory a major upset. The narrative surrounding Edgar's win over BJ Penn was also that of a significant underdog triumphing over a generational great. In this context, when asked about Justin Gaethje becoming the UFC Lightweight Champion, Edgar stated (via Bowks Talking Bouts):

“Yeah, I think it’s amazing. Obviously, Justin is a friend of mine. I don’t think anybody’s more deserving; he’s been through it. There’s never been a boring fight where he didn’t put his whole all into it, and for him to achieve that, that was awesome to see. The way he did it, I mean, it was a; I picked Justin Gaethje, maybe because he’s my friend and I was really hoping it happened.”

Justin Gaethje displayed “guts and heart” at UFC 250, according to Edgar: “That was a classic Justin Gaethje fight”

Elaborating further on his thoughts regarding the Justin Gaethje-Ilia Topuria championship bout, Edgar continued (via Bowks Talking Bouts):

“I don’t think a lot of people thought it was going to go down that way. But if it was going to go down, that’s exactly the way it was going to go down. That was a classic Justin Gaethje fight, and I do think that jab hurt [Topuria], that cut he had. I don’t know if it was his nose or the cut on his eye.”

“I think that really affected Ilia. [Topuria] is just not used to not being in control. Fighting with his back against the wall, he’s just not very good at it. So that’s; Justin was able to go there and just deliver a typical Justin Gaethje performance. Nothing but guts and heart, and get it done. It was awesome to see.”