After Being Compared to Sergio Ramos, UFC Prospect Ilia Topuria Spills the Beans on His Future in the Promotion: “I’m Gonna Go Back to…”

Ilia Topuria is currently one of the most talked about fighters in the UFC. He came into the promotion with an 8-fight undefeated streak and continued to showcase dominating performances, racking up a 14-fight undefeated streak. Topuria is now the most likely contender for Alexander Volkanovski‘s featherweight championship.

‘El Matador’ has been on a rampage in the UFC. He proved his mettle in the last fight against Josh Emmett, where the latter was battered and bruised at the end of their battle at UFC Jacksonville. Meanwhile, with the UFC hosting its events in several countries, they are reportedly working on hosting one event in Spain. Ilia Topuria shed some light on that front in a recent interview on ‘The MMA Hour’.

Ilia Topuria talks about comparison to Sergio Ramos and his UFC future

During his conversation with Ariel Helwani, ‘El Matador’ mentioned that he was aware of the UFC trying to put on an event in his home country of Spain. Furthermore, for the moment, he plans to go back to Spain to cater to his outside-the-octagon business. Topuria said, “I am gonna go back to Spain at the end of this month. So… without any doubt, we’re going to have a lot of work.”

Furthermore, Helwani mentioned that winning the title fight could make him one of the biggest Spanish sporting icons, even surpassing soccer legend Sergio Ramos. Topuria didn’t seem to comment on the statement regarding whether he wanted to become a bigger personality than Ramos. He added, “I don’t know that [getting bigger than Sergio Ramos] but they’re gonna bring the UFC in Spain and I will become the UFC world champion. Man, that will be huge.” On the other hand, Ilia Topuria does have a great relationship with the Spanish World Cup winner.

‘El Matador’ celebrated his UFC Jacksonville win with Sergio Ramos

When Ilia Topuria registered a unanimous decision victory over Josh Emmett, Sergio Ramos was there backstage to congratulate him that night. The former Paris Saint-Germain star attended the Jacksonville event that night to cheer his fellow Spaniard as he dominated his opponent in the main event.

ESPN even released a video of them posing together backstage after the win, with bantamweight fighter Merab Dvalishvili joining them too. It is evident that Ramos, who’s arguably one of Spain’s best-ever defenders, loves the sport of MMA.

READ MORE: Is Ilia Topuria the Future of the Men’s UFC Featherweight Division?

While there is no update on when Topuria will fight next, there are chances that he might take on Alexander Volkanovski for the title sometime down the line. However, if the Aussie fighter decides to go back and avenge his loss to Islam Makhachev, ‘EL Matador’ might have to wait before he gets a title shot. We’ll have to wait and see how things pan out in the days and months to come.

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