Anthony Joshua cuts contact after Ilia Topuria upset loss

Anthony Joshua has made himself unavailable to friends and hangers-on since watching Ilia Topuria lose his UFC lightweight title to Justin Gaethje in May.

Topuria entered UFC Freedom 250 as a heavy favourite but got stopped on his stool before the fifth round after Gaethje piled on damage in the third and fourth frames. The loss was the first of the Georgian-Spaniard's career. Joshua told Combat Evolved that seeing the former two-division champion go from dominant early to corner stoppage drove home how narrow the margins are in combat sports.

What Joshua learned from Topuria's first defeat

"I think you've got to be in the fight game to truly know; it's not lit," Joshua said, per Sherdog. "It's not what people think it is. It's not all fun and games. It's a serious job. Stay away from people who just want to get lit and get upset when you don't return calls. It's not personal. When I watched the Ilia Topuria fight, I stopped replying to people after that. Because I said, 'Yo, it's not a joke.'"

Joshua pointed to Topuria celebrating the night before the bout and noted that nothing can be taken for granted when the cage door closes. The British heavyweight stopped short of criticizing the fighter but used the result as a reminder to tighten his own circle. He referenced Topuria beating opponents who had defeated Gaethje and said the stars looked aligned before the stoppage.

Joshua returns against Kristian Prenga on July 25 at Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Anthony Joshua saw Ilia Topuria’s loss and cut himself off from everyone