Ilia Topuria grateful brother stopped UFC White House fight: I wouldnt be able to

Ilia Topuria sat on the stool, bloodied and swollen. With the world watching, his brother called off the fight.

The decision made it official: Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was no longer champion, and Justin Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) had defied the odds, winning UFC lightweight gold on the White House lawn.

In the five months that have passed since his defeat, Topuria has maintained relative silence. However, as he gears up to begin full-fledged training in January, he's speaking publicly once again.

Fighters want to fight. Topuria seemed to want to continue. But looking back on it, Topuria said his brother, Aleksandre Topuria, made the proper call.

"Me personally, I wouldn't say, 'Stop it.' But I respect the decision that my brother took in that moment," Ilia said in an interview with "One On One". "I would do the same. I couldn't see. I couldn't open my eyes."

Ilia said he was severely impaired. He described a strange, blurry sensation.

"In the second round, I don't remember if it was in the second round or the third round, when the doctor came in, he just asked me, 'Can you see?' I'm just like, 'I can't see.' I'm sweating," Topuria said. "I have my eye fully blocked. I feel like I have thousands of crystals in my eye. It was so weird. Listen, I dedicated my entire life to this sport. I saw many sparring sessions, many fights. I did this for my entire life, but I never saw someone with two orbital bones broken, his nose broken, with his feet broken in a fight. It was so weird. I remember the thoughts that I had during the fight. I was like, 'Why in one of the most important moments in my life, I can't see? I can't breathe.' It's so weird. I have a guy in front of me that has everything but not good intentions. He wants to take my head off. It's a weird place to be."

Ilia even went as far as to say he thinks his brother saved not only his career, but his eyesight.

"One hundred percent," Ilia said. "If he didn't stop the fight, probably I wouldn't be able to fight again in my life. ... I'm so grateful with my brother that he decided to stop me. I love what I'm doing. I had a bad experience, but I still have a lot of things ahead of me. It would be very sad to me if I would hear from a doctor or anyone I wouldn't be able to fight anymore."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ilia Topuria grateful brother stopped UFC White House fight: 'I wouldn't be able to fight again'