Mendez has rewatched Gaethje's UFC title win nine times, calling it MMA's greatest back-and-forth fight

Javier Mendez has rewatched Justin Gaethje’s UFC lightweight title victory over Ilia Topuria nine times, the veteran coach revealed on Submission Radio, declaring it his favourite fight to watch in MMA history. By comparison, Mendez said he has only revisited Khabib Nurmagomedov’s iconic submission win over Conor McGregor three times.

Gaethje dethroned the previously unbeaten Topuria in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in June, winning by technical knockout after Topuria’s corner stopped the bout following the fourth round. The fight was anything but straightforward: after a closely contested opening round, Topuria nearly finished Gaethje with body shots and submission attempts in the second, only for “The Highlight” to rally and control the third and fourth frames while “El Matador” continued to find his moments throughout.

“I’ve watched that sucker nine times now,” Mendez said, before explaining what keeps drawing him back.

“This one here, from the beginning till the finish, there’s no way in hell you’re going to tell me that it was one-sided,” Mendez added. “That thing went back and forth from the beginning. Where in the history of MMA, seriously, think about this, when have you seen it back and forth like that? Never.”

Mendez emphasised that the momentum shifted so repeatedly between the two fighters that he was genuinely uncertain who would prevail even on repeat viewings — a quality he contrasted with the more one-sided nature of Khabib’s dominant performance against McGregor, a fight widely regarded as one of the sport’s landmark moments.

The comparison carries weight given Mendez’s credentials. As the head coach at American Kickboxing Academy, he has trained Nurmagomedov throughout his career and has an intimate familiarity with the Khabib-McGregor bout. His placing Gaethje-Topuria above it in terms of pure watchability reflects how dramatically the June contest has resonated within the sport’s coaching community.