Ilia Topuria is on everyone’s lips. The Spanish-Georgian mixed martial arts fighter will defend his UFC featherweight belt at UFC 308 on October 26. The fight will be in Abu Dhabi and against Max Holloway, one of the company’s most recognized athletes, in what will be his first defense of the title since he won against the Australian Volkanovski last February.

Despite the date being so near, the unfortunate case is that there is still a chance for cancellation. At least that is what it looks like after a recent picture of Ilia Topuria went viral on the internet. One that seems to reveal a health scare that might lead to the cancellation of the bout or may even spell doom for the career of the current UFC featherweight champion.

In a recent post on Reddit, a user uploaded a still from the UFC’s ‘Embedded’ where the first episode features the Spanish-Georgian fighter as he prepares for his fight. In the picture, Topuria can be seen sitting with his wife, Giorgina Uzcategui Badell. However, what caught the fan’s attention was a device that was connected to the nose of Topuria. While it is not completely visible for all to find out, it did look a lot like a medical monitor.

For the unaware, the medical monitors talked about on the Reddit post are used to measure and record the vital signs of the body through the electromechanical components. So if it is a medical monitor, then it is possible that Ilia Topuria is suffering from some medical issue that has not been disclosed to the fans yet. This also puts his October 26 fight in jeopardy, unless he has the clearance from the medical professionals to fight inside the Octagon.

Even if he is clear to fight, the health situation may also affect his performance in what otherwise seems to be a very even fight with a highly unpredictable outcome. But whatever the result may be, Topuria has truly brought major recognition to the sport. Especially in the country of Spain, where MMA is quickly gaining attention as a major sport and is on the way to superstardom in a country that is otherwise obsessed with football (soccer).

MMA is the next big sport for Spain, as per Ilia Topuria

Ilia Topuria’s victory against Volkanovski put MMA in the Spanish media spotlight. The country had never had a media figure of such size, despite having big names in other classic disciplines such as boxing. But where can mixed martial arts reach his country? Topuria himself has responded. In an interview with ABC, the Spanish-Georgian claimed that MMA can be the number one or two in the sport in Spain; it’s all just a matter of time.

Even fellow UFC lightweight and Spaniard Dani Barez agrees with Topuria. In a separate interview, he praised Topuria for bringing a lot of attention to the sport in his home country. He said, “Ilia is a super machine and an example to follow as a fighter in the UFC. People are getting used to seeing what Ilia Topuria is doing, but what Ilia is doing is not normal. That’s not the normal trajectory in the UFC, you know—showing up there and sweeping through everyone put in front of you. He’s spoiling the Spanish public and making it difficult for us more normal people. S**t, he’s been helping a lot.”

Thanks to its recent successes, MMA is fashionable in Spain. A growing industry that has found in Ilia Topuria the banner to hold onto. For that to happen, it will have to dethrone, in addition to football, sports such as basketball, cycling, or tennis, with much more tradition and roots at the domestic level. What do you think? Will Topuria be able to make MMA the most popular sport by beating Max Holloway? Let us know in the comments.