"People from outside the MMA world that don't even watch the sport are starting to acknowledge his name, and that is something that has never happened before with any MMA athlete here," said Laura Fernandez, the UFC presenter for Eurosport in Spain. The YouTube page he started four months ago already has nearly 70,000 subscribers and clearly he's become a big deal in his adopted home country only five fights into his UFC career. Just recently, he was tapped for a feature in Spain's edition of GQ magazine. His Instagram, which is creeping up on 800,000 followers, shows the fit, tattooed and immaculately coiffed fighter donning high fashion. The multilingual Topuria has a chance to be both. In MMA, fighters can be elite but not necessarily big stars. It's not just that Topuria is very good, one of the most well-rounded fighters in the division. ESPN's featherweight rankings have Emmett at No. Emmett is coming off an interim featherweight title fight in January, and a win over Emmett would put Topuria right into the title conversation. On Saturday, he'll compete in his first UFC main event against Josh Emmett at UFC Fight Night in Jacksonville, Florida (3 p.m. Topuria has a chance to take things to the next level this weekend. "In Madrid, in Barcelona, in my city, in my hometown everyone knows me." "It's like everyone is recognizing me in the street when I go out," Topuria told ESPN. He said things have blown up for him in Spain even more ever since. Four months after visiting Mestalla, Topuria beat fellow up-and-comer Bryce Mitchell via second-round submission at UFC 282 on Dec. Topuria, 26, lives in Alicante, about a two-hour train ride from Valencia, and has rapidly become the biggest star in Spanish MMA - probably ever. Others, though, called out, "Ilia! Ilia!" A few recognized Moreno, the first Mexican-born UFC champion. When Topuria and Moreno appeared, some fans raced down from the stands to ask for photos. Topuria and Moreno were on hand as part of a collaboration between the UFC and Spain's famed La Liga. The home team, Valencia CF, was warming up for its game that night against Getafe CF. 4, alongside fellow UFC fighter Brandon Moreno. Ilia Topuria walked out of the tunnel onto the soccer pitch of the 100-year-old Estadio de Mestalla in Valencia, Spain, last Sept. Ilia Topuria's quest to put his name and Spanish MMA in bright lights You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |