The rise of Ilia Topuria in the UFC has meant a revolution in Spanish mixed martial arts. The Hispanic-Georgian debuted in the UFC on October 11, 2020 and in just over three years ‘El Matador’ has been able to publicize a practically unknown sport in Spain. Topuria’s success It has had consequences at all levels of this sporting discipline: sports, economic and sociocultural.
Topuria was almost unknown when he first fought in the UFC octagon against Youssef Zalal. His debut came with short notice and his victory was one of only two in which the fight did not end. However, the Hispanic-Georgian only needed two more fights—against Damon Jackson and Ryan Hall—to sneak into the top 15 featherweight a few months later.
Subsequently, His victory against Josh Emmett in June 2023 was the one that began to make his name resonate outside of circles most specialized in MMA. And, as his title fight against Alexander Volkanovski approached, his popularity increased exponentially. After the victory, there was an unstoppable explosion.
The ‘Topuria effect’ has, of course, had great repercussions on media coverage of MMA. Much of the media has gone from a more than residual following of sport to creating new sections for mixed martial arts and the UFC. Of course, the content of the news is limited almost exclusively to monitoring the activities of the current featherweight champion. Some media still resist, as is the case of The Countryalthough this is an editorial issue.
In strictly sporting terms, Topuria’s notoriety has explosion in the number of practitioners of this discipline. Óscar Panadero, the coach of the Spanish team for AEMMA (Spanish Association of Mixed Martial Arts), assured in an interview with 20 minutes that, although it is still early to feel the ‘Topuria effect’ at the level of our fighters, it is clearly seen in the membership of the clubs. “I have tripled the number of partners since the Topuria title fight was announced,” said Panadero.

Professionalization of the sector
It has also resulted in greater professionalization of events on a national scale, with promoters like WowFC, WAR or AFL wanting to take advantage of the pull. In fact, last April, the UFC closed a pioneering agreement in Spain with WOWfc thanks to which the Spanish promoter’s evenings are offered through UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC streaming platform. This agreement provides a great showcase for Spanish fighters, who have gained an international audience.
Still It remains to be seen what the extent of the ‘Topuria effect’ is. and, above all, if it will remain over time once the fighter is no longer at the epicenter of the news. At the moment, it seems that there is still Topuria for a while.
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