Justin Gaethje explains how he easily game-planned for Ilia Topuria

Justin Gaethje wasn’t convinced by Ilia Topuria‘s boxing ahead of UFC Freedom 250.

Last time out, ‘The Highlight’ headed into the biggest fight of his life on home soil, in the country’s capital, at the White House. For a combat sports athlete, it doesn’t get much bigger than that. Alongside the added pressure on his shoulders, he was coming up against a killer in Ilia Topuria. A man who was yet to lose. An athlete known for his ability to shut the lights out on his opponent at any given moment. But that didn’t prevent Gaethje having the best performance of his career and capturing UFC gold.

Much of Justin Gaethje’s success is down to his elite coach and friend, Trevor Wittman. Wittman’s influence has been felt in the octagon, managing to fine-tune several contenders and turn them into champions. While a lot goes into fight camp in preparation for big matchups, Gaethje admitted that the game plan ahead of Ilia Topuria was simple. Much less complex than many would believe.

Speaking with Demetrious Johnson, Gaethje said:

“His feet never change rhythms. He never changed rhythms with feet. It’s always pop, pop, pop, pop. It’s forward or backwards. He’s very rarely moving lateral. And so, that’s how he fights. So, ultimately, it’s about timing his feet and interrupting his feet, you know, especially when it’s so constant.”

“It’s very easy to predict, and I’ve never seen him alter from that and start to move lateral and start to not be in forward or backwards, in or out. So, really, it was just about moving left. He’s so pointed, and everyone’s always running away from his right hand, but ultimately that’s putting you into his power.”

“As much as that doesn’t make sense… he’s very pointed. So the more you move [backward], the more he’s ready to drive and run that way at all points. As soon as he has to switch [sideways], that’s a whole different ball game. Now you’re squared up. You have to reset your feet in order to take off and go sprinting in that direction. And so, I was really trying to square him up to his right hand.”