Topuria's shock loss to Gaethje jolts Anthony Joshua into career rethink

Anthony Joshua says Justin Gaethje’s stunning upset victory over Ilia Topuria at UFC White House was a wake-up call that changed how he thinks about his own career, prompting the two-time unified heavyweight champion to become less accessible and more fight-focused.

Gaethje broke Topuria over four rounds to claim the undisputed lightweight title in one of the most remarkable upsets in UFC history. Topuria entered the fight unbeaten and carrying the kind of swagger — including pre-fight celebrations — that had drawn comparisons to prime Conor McGregor. The defeat stripped away that aura overnight, and Joshua was watching closely.

“It’s not all fun and games. It’s a serious, serious, serious job,” Joshua told Combat Evolved. “When I watched that Ilia Topuria fight and [Justin Gaethje], I stopped replying to people after that, because I said, ‘It’s not a joke.’”

Joshua pointed to the weight of expectation that surrounded Topuria going in — including victories over fighters who had previously beaten Gaethje — as exactly the kind of false security he wants to guard against in his own career.

“I saw someone in Ilia who was destined to win. The stars were aligned for him to be victorious,” Joshua said. “And that’s what I’m saying — I just took something from it and said, ‘Get back to being uncontactable, less accessible, because the fight game is so serious.’”

Joshua is no stranger to high-profile upsets himself. At the peak of his fame in 2019, he was stopped by Andy Ruiz Jr. to lose his unified heavyweight titles — a loss that drew its own comparisons to Topuria’s fall. Yet Joshua said Gaethje’s victory hit differently, reinforcing lessons he thought he had already learned.

“You saw his face, what he went through,” Joshua said. “It’s not a joke, man. It’s not a joke.”

The 35-year-old said the experience has sharpened his thinking about the people he keeps around him. “I want to create a little army of soldiers who just love fighting,” he said. “All my friends will be fighting mentality. My army is fight-focused.”

Joshua is currently preparing for a July 25 bout against Kristian Prenga, which is intended as a warm-up ahead of a planned fight with Tyson Fury later in 2025.