Topuria uses infrared neurostimulation headgear in camp ahead of Gaethje title defence

Ilia Topuria has pulled back the curtain on an unusual piece of technology that forms part of his fight-camp routine ahead of his lightweight title defence against Justin Gaethje at UFC White House on June 14. The unbeaten champion (17-0) shared footage on YouTube of himself wearing an infrared neurostimulation device — a two-part headgear system he says he has used across multiple camps.

The device comes in two configurations. One is worn for 15 minutes before training sessions to sharpen mental focus; the other is worn near the neck after training to aid recovery and sleep. Topuria was candid about the trade-off involved in using it.

“This is neurostimulation with infrared light and serves for various things, to improve focus, for mental recovery, to improve sleep,” Topuria said. “What I notice most is the focus before training. It’s like not even 100 coffees match the effects of this. Like super focused. I’ve used it in all my camps. It’s always worked very well for me. Yeah, it’s true, it looks really weird, but it’s amazing. It’s 15 minutes that I have to be here.”

Topuria acknowledged the device’s unconventional appearance with characteristic self-awareness. “The only bad thing is that if they take a photo of you with this and publish it somewhere, you’ve got to pay a price for the good things sometimes,” he added. “This model has like two separate helmets. This is for before training, and then I have another one that goes [near the neck], it’s for at night, for after training. They don’t feel anything. I only feel and hear the snoring.”

The Georgian-Spanish fighter captured the lightweight title and enters the Gaethje bout undefeated. His opponent, Justin Gaethje (27-5), holds the interim lightweight belt and will look to unify the division on June 14. Topuria’s willingness to incorporate unconventional recovery tools underlines the meticulous preparation that has defined his rise through the UFC ranks.