Any concerns that the UFC were running out of potential superstars was relieved earlier this month, after Ilia Topuria continued on his path to stardom.
The 27-year-old became the first Spanish champion in UFC history after his stunning KO victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.
Topuria threw a heavy right just over the shoulder and onto the chin of ‘The Great’, who crumpled to the canvas at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Since then, Topuria has been showered with praise, gained millions of followers and rubbed shoulders with some of football’s biggest stars.
So, here, Mail Sport takes a look at the featherweight’s immense rise to the top of the mixed martial arts scene.
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has had a meteoric rise throughout the company
Topuria got his hands on the UFC’s featherweight title earlier this month after a jaw-dropping KO victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298
Fans have been quick to draw similarities between Topuria (left) and Conor McGregor (right)
Born in Germany to Georgian parents before moving to Spain as a teenager, the 27-year-old has been an expert in adaptability from childhood.
When you consider Topuria has trained in Spain for most of his career, a country he says had barely heard of MMA when he arrived, it makes the accomplishment even more impressive.
His unusual upbringing and which country he feels more of an affinity towards is a question he’s often faced with.
Topuria has described it as ‘like trying to pick a favourite child’.
Explaining his country-hopping before his family settled in Alicante – ‘El Matator’ told the MMA Hour: ‘I was raised in Georgia, but I feel like a Spaniard.
‘I started mixed martial arts in Spain and I can’t say, ‘Okay, I’m Georgian’ because I live in Spain, I train in Spain, and Spain brought me to where I am today.’
‘We were living in Georgia around that time, there was a bit of a bad situation there and my parents decided to move to Spain.
‘I was a kid, I didn’t have any decision. I was born in Germany, lived there for seven years, then from seven to 15 I was living in Georgia. I’ve trained most of my life in Alicante’.
The 27-year-old splits his allegiance between Georgia and Spain and is multi-lingual
The featherweight is enormously powerful and has been on a 15-fight win streak
Due to this, when he steps foot inside the octagon, Topuria is regularly seen with flags of both Georgia and Spain, when the results for his fights are announced.
In total, ‘El Matador’ has had seven bouts in the UFC – claiming victory in all seven – having initially made his debut back in October 2020.
He secured a unanimous decision victory over Youssef Zalal before then recording three consecutive KO victories over Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall and Jai Herbert.
He then came up against highly-rated featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell – who was undefeated when he challenged the Spaniard.
However, you wouldn’t have been able to tell that Mitchell had never lost before, as he was easily dismantled by Topuria within two rounds of their 2022 bout.
He secured a submission win over Mitchell – his first of that nature within the UFC – before setting up a mouth-watering clash with Josh Emmett.
Topuria handed fan-favourite Bryce Mitchell his first ever UFC defeat with a submission win
He also delivered a brutal KO to Wolverhampton fighter Jai Herbet (left) in March 2022
The five-round brawl back in June was a treat for all UFC fans, as the two featherweight went back-and-forth in a bout that was later crowned ‘Fight of the Night’.
Topuria came out on top and, in turn, set up his title fight with Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski – who had just lost to Islam Makhachev just four months prior.
While many had tipped the Aussie to retain his featherweight title, quite the opposite occurred as Topuria delivered a crushing right hand to drop Volkanovski to the floor.
Following the victory, fans have been quick to point out the striking similarities between the Spaniard and former featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
Both UFC stars claimed their first UFC titles at the age of 27, while having a perfect 7-0 record in the UFC and maintaining a 15-fight win-streak. Spooky.
Many have claimed that, given the similarities, Topuria could end up being one of the UFC’s biggest superstars and his rapid rise in social media followers would seem to suggest that it’s true.
According to MMA Orbit, has gained over 2.5 million Instagram followers in the last nine months – having been on 800,000 before his fight with Emmett compared to his current tally of 3.4 million.
Topuria has had exponential growth on social media but remains some way off McGregor
There are hopes that the Spaniard can emulate the success of the ‘Notorious’ in the UFC
Though it’s a far cry from McGregor’s staggering follower count of 47.2 million on Instagram, it’s a clear indicator the the Spaniard’s stock is on a steady rise.
Following the victory over Volkanovski, Topuria was given a hero’s welcome ahead of Real Madrid‘s clash with Sevilla – before striking a pose with both set’s of players.
Topuria was seen shaking hands with both captain’s – Nacho Fernandez and Sergio Ramos – before handing the belt to an official and taking the kick.
The UFC champion then headed off the pitch but images later showed both Madrid and Sevilla players posing with Topuria and the featherweight title.
The likes of Thibaut Courtois, Sergio Ramos, David Alaba and Jude Bellingham – who missed the game with an injury – all struck a pose alongside the UFC star.
Former Madrid captain Ramos has developed a close relationship with Topuria, with the UFC star revealing the details of how they first met.
Topuria explained: ‘He started to follow me [on social media], text me, and for this fight he told me I’m going to watch you, to support you.
‘I was like, ‘Really? You will come?’ He told me, ‘Yes, I’m on vacation. I didn’t have any football match, soccer match, so I’m going to go to watch you fight.’
‘I’m pretty sure that if the UFC brings an event to Spain, they’re going to sell out the whole arena in one day.
Jude Bellingham (L) and Sergio Ramos (R) were among the players to strike a pose with Topuria
Topuria was given a hero’s welcome ahead of Real Madrid’s clash with Sevilla on Sunday
‘Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu, in that stadium. Yeah. They’re going to sell out. I don’t have any doubt about that.’
Perhaps the 27-year-old won’t be waiting long for his dream UFC event in Spain, after adding pressure to UFC chief Dana White to bring the organisation to Madrid.
He declared: ‘Dana [White], it’s showtime, it’s time to take the UFC to Spain,’ Topuria said to Joe Rogan.
‘And Conor McGregor, if you still have some b****, I will be waiting for you in Spain.’
Though a return to featherweight for McGregor is nigh on impossible, there’s no doubt that a bout between the two would do some serious PPV numbers
