Ilia Topuria

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Ilia Topuria
File:Ilia Topuria El Matador.jpg
Ilia Topuria in 2021
Born (1997-01-21) January 21, 1997 (age 27)
Halle Westfalen, Germany
Other names El Matador
Nationality Georgian
Height 5 ft 8 in
Weight 145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb)
Division Lightweight (2022)
Featherweight (2015–2021, 2022–present)
Bantamweight (2018)
Reach 69 in[1]
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Alicante, Spain
Team Climent Club (2012–present)[2]
Rank Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jorge and Agustin Climent[3][2]
Years active 2015–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 15
Wins 15
By knockout 5
By submission 8
By decision 2
Losses 0
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Ilia Topuria (Georgian: ილია თოფურია;[4] born January 21, 1997) is a Georgian and Spanish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he officially represents his native Georgia[5]. As of February 18, 2024, he is the undefeated UFC Featherweight Champion.[6]

Background

Topuria was born in Halle Westfalen, Germany[7][8][9][10] to Georgian parents.[3] At the age of seven he moved to Georgia with his family where he started practicing Greco-Roman Wrestling at school.[3] At the age of 15 he moved to live in Alicante in Spain, where he started practicing martial arts at the Climent Club.[11] In 2015, he made his debut as a professional in local competitions.[12][3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After starting his career with 4 straight submission wins on the Spanish regional scene and winning a belt in Mix Fight Events promotion. In 2018 he made his first international fight in Cage MMA Finland.[13] In the same year, in May, he became the first Georgian black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu alongside his brother Alex Topuria. Months later he received the opportunity to fight for the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium. Ilia failed to make the agreed weight so despite winning the fight quickly, he did not get the belt.[14]

In 2019 he signed with Brave Combat Federation. Ilia made his debut in the promotion in Bogota, Colombia,[15] defeating opponent Luis Gomez in the first round by submission;[16] which leads him to get the award for best performance of the night.[17] On November 15, 2019, in Bahrain, he won his second fight in BRAVE by defeating Steven Goncalves by KO in the first round.[18][19]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Topuria, as a replacement for Seung Woo Choi, took a bout on short notice against Youssef Zalal on October 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen.[20] Topuria won the fight via unanimous decision.[21]

Topuria faced Damon Jackson on December 5, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori.[22] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[23]

Topuria faced Ryan Hall on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264.[24] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[25]

Topuria was scheduled to face Movsar Evloev on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270.[26] However, Evloev withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and [27] was replaced by Charles Jourdain.[28] However, Topuria was pulled from the card due to a medical issue related to cutting weight and the bout was cancelled.[29]

Topuria faced Jai Herbert, replacing Mike Davis, on March 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204.[30] Topuria suffered a knockdown from a head kick in round one, but recovered and won the fight via knockout in round two.[31] With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.[32]

Topuria was scheduled to face Edson Barboza on October 29, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 213.[33] However, Barboza withdrew in late September due to a knee injury and the bout was cancelled.

Topuria faced Bryce Mitchell on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282.[34] He won the fight via submission in round two.[35] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[36]

Topuria was initially scheduled to face Josh Emmett on June 17, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 47.[37] However, the promotion later announced that the bout was shifted to headline UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria on June 24, 2023.[38] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[39] The bout earned him the Fight of the Night award.[40]

Topuria was scheduled to face Alexander Volkanovski on January 20, 2024, for the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 297.[41] However, Volkanovski was instead pulled to face Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 294.[42] As a result, this fight was pushed back one month to headline UFC 298.[43]

On February 17, 2024, at UFC 298, Topuria claimed the UFC featherweight title by defeating Volkanovski with a second-round stoppage. This victory marked the end of Volkanovski's four-year reign as the featherweight champion.[44][45] This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.[46]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Personal life

A video surfaced on January 4, 2023, that showed a man shoving Topuria a few times, which was unprovoked, in a bar in Spain, and Topuria retaliating with a few punches before the scuffle was broken up.[48]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 15–0 Alexander Volkanovski KO (punch) UFC 298 February 17, 2024 2 3:32 Anaheim, California, United States Won the UFC Featherweight Championship. Performance of the Night.
Win 14–0 Josh Emmett Decision (unanimous) UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria June 24, 2023 5 5:00 Jacksonville, Florida, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 13–0 Bryce Mitchell Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC 282 December 10, 2022 2 3:10 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Return to Featherweight. Performance of the Night.
Win 12–0 Jai Herbert KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall March 19, 2022 2 1:07 London, England Lightweight debut. Performance of the Night.
Win 11–0 Ryan Hall KO (punches) UFC 264 July 10, 2021 1 4:47 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 10–0 Damon Jackson KO (punch) UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori December 5, 2020 1 2:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–0 Youssef Zalal Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen October 11, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 8–0 Stephen Goncalves KO (punches) Brave CF 29 November 15, 2019 1 3:42 Isa Town, Bahrain
Win 7–0 Luis Gomez Submission (triangle straight armbar) Brave CF 26 September 7, 2019 1 1:15 Bogotá, Colombia Return to Featherweight.
Win 6–0 Brian Bouland Technical Submission (anaconda choke) Cage Warriors 94 June 16, 2018 1 1:39 Antwerp, Belgium For the vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship; Topuria missed weight (139.4 lb) and was ineligible to win the title.
Win 5–0 Mika Hamalainen Submission (guillotine choke) CAGE 43 April 28, 2018 1 3:35 Helsinki, Finland Bantamweight debut.
Win 4–0 Jhon Guarin Submission (guillotine choke) Mix Fight Events 2 November 5, 2016 2 2:50 Valencia, Spain Won the vacant MFE Featherweight Championship.
Win 3–0 Daniel Vasquez Submission (rear-naked choke) Mix Fight Events May 7, 2016 1 1:50 Alicante, Spain Catchweight (141 lb) bout.
Win 2–0 Kalil Martin El Chalibi Submission (rear-naked choke) Climent Show MMA 4 May 9, 2015 1 1:03 Alicante, Spain
Win 1–0 Francisco Javier Asprilla Submission (triangle choke) West Coast Warriors April 4, 2015 1 3:30 Valencia, Spain Featherweight debut.

[49]

See also

References

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 3.25.21 UFC-ში ილია თოფურიას მომდევნო მეტოქე ცნობილია Archived 2022-07-05 at the Wayback Machine Imedi Media Holding
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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