Megan Olivi ponders Ilia Topuria's mental rebound after 'being the nail'

Megan Olivi is curious to see how Ilia Topuria‘s confidence will transform in the wake of his first MMA loss.

Topuria  (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC)  saw his undefeated MMA run come to an end in June when he lost the lightweight belt to Justin Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in a monumental upset at UFC Freedom 250 from the White House. It was a brutal contest that ended in a corner stoppage TKO after Round 4, and with that, deflated some of the air in the hype around “El Matador.”

Dominance in MMA is compelling to follow, but adversity is arguable a more compelling storyline. Longtime UFC reporter and host Olivi was a first-hand witness to Topuria’s rise, and now she is intrigued in how he rebuilds and comes back, whenever that may be.

“He was undefeated and had significant physical injuries,” Olivi told MMA Junkie. “I always enjoy my interviews with him. He obviously has a confidence about him. Some people call it cockiness. It never strikes me that way. It’s just this confidence from his hard work and what his record was showing at the time. I think he showed a lot in that performance against Justin Gaethje.

“We always wonder how people will accept being the nail as opposed to being the hammer in a matchup. I am greatly looking forward to seeing how he recovers mentally. Physically, he’ll be fine. But mentally and emotionally, what sort of motivation does this serve? I have no doubt that if he wants to come back and be great and avenge his loss or get his hand raised once again, he will be able to do so. I’ll just be curious what his perspective looks like and what his motivation looks like after that.”

Olivi said she expects Topuria to take the remainder of 2026 off for rest and recovery. Once healthy, though, she would like nothing more than to see him return against rival Paddy Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who positioned himself for a highly anticipated grudge match against Topuria with a 52-second finish of Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329 this month.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Megan Olivi ponders Ilia Topuria’s mental rebound after ‘being the nail’