Overview
- Gaethje defeated previously unbeaten Ilia Topuria by fourth‑round corner stoppage to become undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
- Topuria suffered fractures around both orbital bones and a broken nose and reported progressive vision loss during the fight which is expected to keep him sidelined for months.
- Merab Dvalishvili publicly said on June 26 that he believes an eye poke by Gaethje affected Topuria's vision while qualifying that the contact may have been accidental.
- Social‑media stills and past complaints from fighters such as Paddy Pimblett and Rafael Fiziev have revived a pattern of eye‑poke claims in Gaethje fights but no athletic commission has overturned the result or issued a formal sanction.
- The official outcome stands while both men face multi‑month recovery timelines, rematch calls build, and UFC matchmaking must weigh a wounded former champion against a new titleholder who has signaled he will be out for months.