Citius, altius, fortius. In 1896, the Olympic Games took that motto as a symbol of their spirit. But for Ilia Topuria, like Icarus, his wings ended up melting from getting too close to the sun. His 170 centimeters sank below the South Lawn of the White House to receive the first defeat of his life in mixed martial arts. Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday watching how a compatriot, Justin Gaethje, ended the immaculate history of a Hispanic-Georgian on the 250th anniversary of his country's birth.
A white rose withered in the octagon in front of a surprising Gaethje. It was going to be number 18. The year without fighting weighed heavily, along with personal problems and the difference in height and reach. The Highlight had his moment against the Matador, surprising, unexpected, and very cruel. "That older man," as Ilia derogatorily referred to him, ended up demonstrating the experience of his 37 years and 33 fights compared to the 29 and 18 of the Spaniard.
It was almost two hours later than planned, past 7:00 in the morning in Spain, when Ilia Topuria lost his undefeated record, lost the favoritism, and lost an aura that had surrounded him throughout his career in the UFC, with three consecutive knockouts against three legends of the league. But sometimes, destiny is elusive, and against the best fighters in the world, and Gaethje is one, you can't afford to have a bad night. After two interim titles, the American achieved the coveted lightweight title.
The challenger sought it from the first round, throwing dangerous jabs that ended up damaging his opponent's face. Topuria would have his chance in the second, but losing the vision in his right eye from the punches he received diminished his chances over time. The American even managed a takedown after a right hook that the Matador would save by grabbing his legs. But the fight was lost.
Between the third and fourth rounds, the doctor even considered stopping the fight, but Topuria managed to convince him to continue. It would be of little use, almost without vision, he was unable to dodge the blows from the man from Arizona. Until, before the final round, he ended up abandoning the fight with his brother saying they would finish it.
But it couldn't be helped, this is the UFC, the best league in the world for mixed martial arts. The American won the war. "I am American," he replied to Joe Rogan in the octagon. "I knew I had to get through the first round," he explained. He did it and with great style, like the backward somersault, his signature move in victories to celebrate a very big one.
The night, with the aforementioned delay due to storms, began with an ode to American patriotism among the 4,300 privileged individuals who were able to witness the spectacle live. Trump and Dana White strolling from the balcony of the White House to the stage of the first sporting event hosted by the presidential residence in its history. They did so after listening to the American anthem, performed by Zac Brown, amidst images of many American forces deployed around the world and subsequently under chants of USA.
The octagon was inaugurated by Diego Lopes and Steve García in a featherweight duel, the category that Topuria left to become a double UFC champion after moving up to lightweight. The Brazilian knocked out García in the second round and became the first winner of a fight at the White House.
Subsequently, Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus in the middleweight division, both Americans, with a knockout victory for the former in the initial round, followed by another lightweight fight in which the veteran Michael Chandler fell to the Brazilian Mauricio Ruffy after a spinning kick in the same period. The Brazilian took the opportunity to propose to his partner after his victory, which ended with a double affirmation from his future wife.
The highlight of the night continued to heat up with the victory in the heavyweight division of the villain and undefeated Josh Hokit, who had his ups and downs with Topuria himself beforehand, against Derrick Lewis. O'Malley defeated Zahabi before the other big fight of the night between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. In this duel for the interim heavyweight title, the Frenchman triumphed. But it was all warm-up, the shootout came later with the tournament fight. A historic duel in a historic setting.
The night belonged to Gaethje, against all odds. The underdog became the alpha male of this historic event and managed to defeat the unbeatable. Ilia will return, but he will no longer do so as a champion or undefeated. An American took away his dream at the White House when no one expected it. That's life.