Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria | |
---|---|
Ilia Topuria in 2021 | |
Born | Halle Westfalen, Germany | January 21, 1997
Other names | El Matador |
Nationality | Georgian Spanish |
Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
Weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb) |
Division | Lightweight (2022) Featherweight (2015–2021, 2022–present) Bantamweight (2018) |
Reach | 69 in (175 cm)[1] |
Stance | Orthodox |
Fighting out of | Alicante, Spain |
Team | Climent Club (2012–present)[2] |
Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jorge and Agustin Climent[3][2] |
Years active | 2015–present |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 13 |
Wins | 13 |
By knockout | 4 |
By submission | 8 |
By decision | 1 |
Losses | 0 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Ilia Topuria (Georgian: ილია თოფურია)[4] (born January 21, 1997) is a Georgian and Spanish[5][6] mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 13, 2022, he is #9 in the UFC featherweight rankings.[7]
Background
Topuria was born in Halle Westfalen, Germany[8][9][10][11] to Georgian parents.[3] At the age of seven he moved to Georgia with his family where he started practicing Greco-Roman Wrestling at school.[3] At the age of 15 he moved to live in Alicante in Spain, where he started practicing martial arts at the Climent Club.[12] In 2015, he made his debut as a professional in local competitions.[13][3]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
After starting his career with 4 straight submission wins on the Spanish regional scene and winning a belt in Mix Fight Events promotion. In 2018 he made his first international fight in Cage MMA Finland.[14] In the same year, in May, he became the first Georgian black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu alongside his brother Alex Topuria. Months later he received the opportunity to fight for the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium. Ilia failed to make the agreed weight so despite winning the fight quickly, he did not get the belt.[15]
In 2019 he signed with Brave Combat Federation. Ilia made his debut in the promotion in Bogota, Colombia,[16] defeating opponent Luis Gomez in the first round by submission;[17] which leads him to get the award for best performance of the night.[18] On November 15, 2019, in Bahrain, he wins his second fight in BRAVE by defeating Steven Goncalves by KO in the first round.[19][20]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Topuria, as a replacement for Seung Woo Choi, took a bout on short notice against Youssef Zalal on October 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen.[21] Topuria won the fight via unanimous decision.[22]
Topuria faced Damon Jackson on December 5, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori.[23] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[24]
Topuria faced Ryan Hall on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264.[25] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[26]
Topuria was scheduled to face Movsar Evloev on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270.[27] However, Evloev withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and [28] was replaced by Charles Jourdain.[29] However, Topuria was pulled from the card due to a medical issue related to cutting weight and the bout was cancelled.[30]
Topuria faced Jai Herbert, replacing Mike Davis, on March 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 204.[31] Topuria suffered a knockdown from a head kick in round one, but recovered and won the fight via knockout in round two.[32] With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.[33]
Topuria was scheduled to face Edson Barboza on October 29, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 213.[34] However, Barboza withdrew in late September due to a knee injury and the bout was cancelled.
Topuria faced Bryce Mitchell on December 10, 2022, at UFC 282.[35] He won the fight via submission in round two.[36] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[37]
Topuria was initially scheduled to face Josh Emmett on June 17, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 46.[38] However, the promotion later announced that the bout was shifted to headline UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria on June 24, 2023.[39]
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Jai Herbert and Bryce Mitchell[33][37]
- Mix Fight Events
- MFE Featherweight Championship (One time)
- MMAjunkie.com
- 2022 December Submission of the Month vs. Bryce Mitchell[40]
Personal life
A video surfaced on January 4, 2023, that showed a man shoving Topuria a few times, which was unprovoked, in a bar in Spain, and Topuria retaliating with a few punches before the scuffle was broken up.[41]
Mixed martial arts record
13 matches | 13 wins | 0 losses |
By knockout | 4 | 0 |
By submission | 8 | 0 |
By decision | 1 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 13–0 | Bryce Mitchell | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC 282 | December 10, 2022 | 2 | 3:10 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Featherweight. Performance of the Night. |
Win | 12–0 | Jai Herbert | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall | March 19, 2022 | 2 | 1:07 | London, England | Lightweight debut. Performance of the Night. |
Win | 11–0 | Ryan Hall | KO (punches) | UFC 264 | July 10, 2021 | 1 | 4:47 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 10–0 | Damon Jackson | KO (punch) | UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori | December 5, 2020 | 1 | 2:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 9–0 | Youssef Zalal | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen | October 11, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
Win | 8–0 | Stephen Goncalves | KO (punches) | Brave CF 29 | November 15, 2019 | 1 | 3:42 | Isa Town, Bahrain | |
Win | 7–0 | Luis Gomez | Submission (triangle straight armbar) | Brave CF 26 | September 7, 2019 | 1 | 1:15 | Bogotá, Colombia | Return to Featherweight. |
Win | 6–0 | Brian Bouland | Technical Submission (anaconda choke) | Cage Warriors 94 | June 16, 2018 | 1 | 1:39 | Antwerp, Belgium | For the vacant Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship; Topuria missed weight (139.4 lb) and was ineligible to win the title. |
Win | 5–0 | Mika Hamalainen | Submission (guillotine choke) | CAGE 43 | April 28, 2018 | 1 | 3:35 | Helsinki, Finland | Bantamweight debut. |
Win | 4–0 | Jhon Guarin | Submission (guillotine choke) | Mix Fight Events 2 | November 5, 2016 | 2 | 2:50 | Valencia, Spain | Won the vacant MFE Featherweight Championship. |
Win | 3–0 | Daniel Vasquez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Mix Fight Events | May 7, 2016 | 1 | 1:50 | Alicante, Spain | Catchweight (141 lb) bout. |
Win | 2–0 | Kalil Martin El Chalibi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Climent Show MMA 4 | May 9, 2015 | 1 | 1:03 | Alicante, Spain | |
Win | 1–0 | Francisco Javier Asprilla | Submission (triangle choke) | West Coast Warriors | April 4, 2015 | 1 | 3:30 | Valencia, Spain | Featherweight debut. |
See also
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
- List of undefeated mixed martial artists
References
- ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ a b Raj Ghosalkar (December 10, 2022). "Ilia Topuria's BJJ Background and His Coaches: Is Ilia Topuria A Black Belt?". Sportsmanor.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Ariel Helwani (January 20, 2022). Ilia Topuria Explains How MMA Career Began By Skipping School - MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ 3.25.21 UFC-ში ილია თოფურიას მომდევნო მეტოქე ცნობილია Archived 2022-07-05 at the Wayback Machine Imedi Media Holding
- ^ "2021: The Rise of Georgians in UFC". GeorgianJournal (in Georgian). Archived from the original on 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
- ^ "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
- ^ "UFC 264 video: Ilia Topuria catches spinning back kick, KO's Ryan Hall". FIGHTMAG. 2021-07-11. Archived from the original on 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ^ E. Spencer Kyte (2020-11-30). "Ilia Topuria Wants The World To Know His Name | UFC". www.ufc.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ^ Ross Markey (2021-03-23). "Report - Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria slated for UFC 264 on July 10th. -". FIGHT BANANAS. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ^ "Ilia Topuriadef. Youssef Zalal :: UFC on ESPN+ 37 :: MMA Decisions". mmadecisions.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
- ^ Gonzalo Campos MMA, MMA On The Road - Ilia Topuria, archived from the original on 2021-07-09, retrieved 2021-07-10
- ^ "Buscar En Mi Web" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-11-28. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
- ^ Jyrki Nurminen (April 28, 2018). "Live Results : Cage 43". mmaviking.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ Prates, Fernanda (June 16, 2018). "Cage Warriors 94: Ilia Topuria makes quick work of Brian Bouland". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "KienyKe | El placer de Saber, Ver y Oír Más". KienyKe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
- ^ "Brave CF 26 | MMA Event". Tapology. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ Farah Hannoun (2019-11-16). "Brave CF 29 results: Azamat Murzakanov runs through competition to win KHK open weight title". MMA Junkie. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ Farah Hannoun (2019-11-15). "Oh Georgia! Ilia Topuria and Guram Kutateladze score big knockouts at Brave CF 29". MMA Junkie. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
- ^ Marcel Dorff (2020-10-02). "Toptalent Ilia Topuria tekent bij de UFC, treft Youssef Zalal op 10 oktober in Abu Dhabi". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ Bitter, Shawn (2020-10-10). "UFC Fight Island 5 Results: Ilia Topuria Stays Undefeated in Debut Win Over Youssef Zalal". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
- ^ Jamal Boussenaf (2020-11-07). "Ilia Topuria neemt het op 5 december op tegen Damon Jackson". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2020-12-05). "UFC Vegas 16 Results: Ilia Topuria Absolutely Floors Damon Jackson". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ^ Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura (2021-03-24). "Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria added to UFC's July 10 event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-07-10). "UFC 264 Results: Ilia Topuria Overcomes Awkward Attacks, Finishes Ryan Hall Early". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ Dorff, Marcel (2021-10-25). "Movsar Evloev en Ilia Topuria in partij der ongeslagen vechters tijdens UFC 270 in Anaheim". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
- ^ Heck, Mike (2022-01-11). "Movsar Evloev scratched from UFC 270, Ilia Topuria calls for Dan Ige to replace". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Jay Pettry. "Charles Jourdain to Face Ilia Topuria on Short Notice at UFC 270". Sherdog. Archived from the original on 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ Law, Eddie (2022-01-21). "Ilia Topuria Out Of Charles Jourdain Bout At UFC 270". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ^ "Mike Davis isn't facing Jai Herbert at UFC London because 'it just doesn't make sense to take the fight'". MMA Junkie. 2022-02-12. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Behunin, Alex (2022-03-19). "UFC London: Ilia Topuria Flatlines Jai Herbert In The Second Round". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2022-03-19. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ a b "UFC Fight Night 204 bonuses: Nine fighters go home with $50,000". MMA Junkie. 2022-03-19. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
- ^ "UFC books Edson Barboza vs. Ilia Topuria for Oct. 29 event". MMA Junkie. 2022-07-29. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
- ^ "Bryce Mitchell vs. Ilia Topuria being finalized for UFC 282 in Las Vegas". MMA Junkie. 2022-10-24. Archived from the original on 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2022-12-10). "UFC 282: Ilia Topuria Stuns, Submits Bryce Mitchell in Dominant Showing". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
- ^ a b Hiergesell, Dan (2022-12-11). "Bonuses! All Fighters With Finishes Collect $50K". MMAmania.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
- ^ Cole Shelton (2023-03-29). "Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria set to headline UFC Fight Night card in June". bjpenn.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
- ^ Matthew Wells (April 20, 2023). "Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria gets new date, now headlines UFC on ABC 5 on June 24". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ Mike Bohn (January 2, 2023). "MMA Junkie's Submission of the Month for December 2022: Ilia Topuria ends Bryce Mitchell's run". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2023-01-04). "UFC Featherweight Ilia Topuria Involved in Altercation at Spanish Bar". Cageside Press. Archived from the original on 2023-01-05. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ "Ilia Topuria". Sherdog. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
External links
- 1996 births
- Living people
- Male mixed martial artists from Georgia (country)
- Spanish male mixed martial artists
- Featherweight mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling
- Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- Emigrants from Georgia (country) to Spain
- Mingrelians
- Spanish people of Georgian descent
- Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
- Spanish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners from Georgia (country)
- People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- People from Halle (Westfalen)