Undefeated UFC prospect Ilia Topuria is gearing up to take on the long-reigning, undisputed UFC featherweight champion Alexandre Volkanovski at UFC 298. The Georgian from Spain has been one of the biggest stars to emerge from the featherweight division, and for good reason.
Backing up his undefeated UFC record, the 27-year-old has 12 of his 14 wins coming by way of finishes. Not only does Topuria have incredible striking but also top-class grappling, which he showed against some of the best grapplers in the featherweight division, like Bryce Mitchell and Ryan Hall. His success has led him to be in contact with some of the biggest names in sports.
Ilia Topuria’s rapport with Sergio Ramos
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Notorious and arguably one of the greatest defenders that soccer has witnessed, Sergio Ramos is a big MMA fan. Given his admiration for Conor McGregor, it’s no surprise that he is friends with arguably one of the best MMA talents from Spain. In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, ‘El Matador’ revealed that he was friends with Spanish soccer superstar Sergio Ramos.
Topuria told John Anik, “He texts me… in the fight week. He told me, ‘I want to come to watch you to watch you fight.’ I said, ‘It will be a pleasure.’ Yeah, you have to come. So he came. Now we have great relationship. Sometimes we text each other, and that’s great. And in this fight, we’re gonna have a lot of more soccer players,” claimed Topuria.
Additionally, Ilia Topuria is trying to make Georgia and Spain proud by winning the UFC gold against the Australian champion, Alexander Volkanovski. However, he isn’t the fighter who will be representing the two countries.
Who is the Georgian fighter accompanying ‘El Matador’ for UFC 298?
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Ilia Topuria, despite being the closest fighter to being the first Georgian UFC champion, isn’t the only fighter who is close to touching the UFC belt. On the undercard, where Topuria is fighting Volkanovski for the UFC gold, fellow Georgian and UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili is gearing up to take on former double champion Henry Cejudo.
Many believe that Dvalishvili will get a shot at UFC gold if he wins his fight against the former UFC double champion, Henry Cejudo, at UFC 298. Given that the Georgian is on a 9-fight winning streak, a win against “Triple C” will make it hard for people to claim otherwise.
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How likely do you think that we will see two Georgian champions in the year 2024? Let us know how you feel in the comments section below.