Matt Brown: Topuria may never recover from UFC White House loss

Ilia Topuria's brutal stoppage loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC White House may have broken something inside the former featherweight champion that he can never fully repair, according to UFC veteran Matt Brown.

Topuria entered the lightweight title fight at the June 14 event in Washington with supreme confidence, changing his Instagram bio to 18-0 before the opening bell and predicting a finish inside two minutes. Instead, Gaethje battered him across four rounds, opening cuts around both eyes and landing a body knee in the fourth that prompted Topuria's corner to wave off the fight. MMA Fighting reports that Brown sees the defeat as a potential turning point that transcends physical damage.

Brown questions if Topuria can mentally recover

"I could tell you right now that is a potential life-changing fight right there," Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, per MMA Fighting. "He may not come back the same. I'm not talking just about the brain damage but the mental damage and the confidence, which has always been a huge thing for Ilia."

Brown, who spent 15 years in the UFC octagon, believes Topuria's aura of invincibility has been shattered. The Georgian-Spanish fighter had delivered on every promise before Sunday — knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at featherweight, becoming the first to finish Max Holloway, and submitting Charles Oliveira to claim a second belt. But Gaethje dragged him into deep water and drowned him there. Topuria left the White House South Lawn for a hospital immediately after the stoppage.

"His soul now knows he has a breaking point," Brown said. "That could raise some questions. This is what people that don't fight don't understand — it's the ultimate lie detector test."

Brown suggested Topuria should return to featherweight, where he won't give up the size and power differential he faced against Gaethje. Topuria is expected to address his future once medical clearances are complete.

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• MMA Fighting — Matt Brown argues Ilia Topuria suffered ‘potential life-changing’ loss at UFC White House: ‘He may not come back the same’