If there is an athlete who has stood out throughout 2024, it has been Ilia Topuria. The Spanish-Georgian fighter started the year as a figure almost unknown to most and ends it as the brand new undisputed champion of the UFC featherweight divisionafter having defeated by KO the two best fighters in history in that category: former champions Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Now, ‘El Matador’ is a true Spanish sports star.
2024 began with Topuria who was positioned as number five in the UFC featherweight and with a unmatched opportunity to dethrone monarch Alexander Volkanovski. On February 18 at UFC 298, the Hispanic-Georgian starred in the most important fight of his life until then. I wasn’t nervous, because I knew I would win.. ‘I dreamed it’, he said to himself when he entered the Honda Center in Anaheim, California to the rhythm of the Mariachi song. That’s right, he knocked out ‘The Great’ in the second round of their fight and left half the world speechless.
With the belt on his shoulder he arrived in Spain received among masses and great institutional authorities. That ‘I dreamed it’ became a song with the voice of Omar Montes – his great friend – and Topuria’s face in a regular face in sports media, television sets and, above all, on social networks. Thanks to him, mixed martial arts or MMA was no longer a niche sport. Furthermore, the new champion also achieved the Spanish nationality officially.
During 2024, The fighter moved his habitual residence from Alicante to Madrid to be able to better attend to their media and business commitments. ‘El Matador’ continues to increase his fortune after becoming champion and continues his investment activities. Among other things, he has launched the ‘Invictos’ coaching project, has become a shareholder in the mixed martial arts promoter WowFC and has released his film ‘Topuria: Matador’.
Back in the sporting arena, Topuria once again demonstrated why there is so much talk about him last October at UFC 308, where defeated one of the most legendary fighters in the UFC, Max Holloway. After this victory, with which he consolidated his leadership at featherweight, the future of the MMA star is even more promising. ‘El Matador’ longs for the glory of the best and seeks to expand his legacybut that is already left for 2025.
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