Justin Gaethje says the toughest challenge Ilia Topuria now faces is not a loss on his record but the fact that opponents will no longer walk into the cage afraid of him — and he drew a direct comparison to what happened to Tony Ferguson after their fight.
Gaethje spoke to Joe Rogan following his fourth-round doctor stoppage TKO of Topuria at UFC Freedom 250.
The odds are f***ing great against that right now. I hope he does and I know that he has the skill to be a champion again however, just like with Tony Ferguson. I didn’t break Tony Ferguson’s confidence. I changed the perception his opponents have of him and that is a huge factor when you go in there. Before this, he was a guy that you couldn’t get through, that you wouldn’t push through, you couldn’t survive with. Once I showed people that all you’ve got to do is get through that, nobody’s ever going to go in there thinking that he’s unbeatable again and that was his identity. That’s going to be such a tough task for him to fight people that aren’t scared of him.
Gaethje said he still hopes Topuria can bounce back.
I hope good things for him. We’ll see how honest he’ll be with himself.