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Ilia Topuria

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Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria.png
Ilia Topuria in 2021
Born (1997-01-21) January 21, 1997 (age 25)
Halle Westfalen, Germany
Other namesEl Matador
NationalityGeorgian[1]
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[2]
Weight145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb)
DivisionLightweight
Featherweight
Reach69 in (175 cm)[3]
Fighting out ofAlicante, Spain
TeamCliment Club
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[4]
Years active2015–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total12
Wins12
By knockout4
By submission7
By decision1
Losses0
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Ilia Topuria (Georgian: ილია თოფურია)[5] (born January 21, 1997) is a German-born[6] Georgian[1][7] mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of March 14, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC featherweight rankings.[8]

Background

Ilia was born in Halle Westfalen, Germany[6][9][10][11] to Georgian parents.[4] At the age of seven he moved to Georgia with his family where he started practicing Greco-Roman wrestling at school.[4] 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][4]

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.[16] Ilia made his debut in the promotion in Bogota, Colombia,[17] defeating opponent Luis Gomez in the first round by submission;[18][19] which leads him to get the award for best performance of the night.[20] On November 15, 2019, in Bahrain, he wins his second fight in BRAVE by defeating Steven Goncalves by KO in the first round.[21][22]

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.[23] Topuria won the fight via unanimous decision.[24]

Topuria faced Damon Jackson on December 5, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori.[25] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[26]

Topuria faced Ryan Hall on July 10, 2021, at UFC 264.[27] He won the fight via knockout in round one.[28]

Topuria was scheduled to face Movsar Evloev on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270.[29] However, Evloev withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reason and [30] he was replaced by Charles Jourdain.[31] However, Topuria was pulled from the card due to a medical issue related to cutting weight and the bout was cancelled.[32]

Topuria faced Jai Herbert, replacing Mike Davis, on March 19, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 204.[33] Topuria suffered a knockdown from a head kick in round one, but recovered and won the fight via knockout in round two.[34] With this win, he received the Performance of the Night award.[35]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

  • Mix Fight Events
    • MFE Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
12 matches 12 wins 0 losses
By knockout 4 0
By submission 7 0
By decision 1 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
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.

[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2021: The Rise of Georgians in UFC". GeorgianJournal (in Georgian). Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  2. ^ "Ilia Topuria UFC Athlete Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Ariel Helwani (January 20, 2022). Ilia Topuria Explains How MMA Career Began By Skipping School - MMA Fighting – via YouTube.
  5. ^ 3.25.21 UFC-ში ილია თოფურიას მომდევნო მეტოქე ცნობილია Imedi Media Holding
  6. ^ a b "UFC 264 video: Ilia Topuria catches spinning back kick, KO's Ryan Hall". FIGHTMAG. 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  7. ^ ESPN
  8. ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  9. ^ E. Spencer Kyte (2020-11-30). "Ilia Topuria Wants The World To Know His Name | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  10. ^ Ross Markey (2021-03-23). "Report - Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria slated for UFC 264 on July 10th. -". FIGHT BANANAS. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  11. ^ "Ilia Topuriadef. Youssef Zalal :: UFC on ESPN+ 37 :: MMA Decisions". www.mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  12. ^ Gonzalo Campos MMA, MMA On The Road - Ilia Topuria, retrieved 2021-07-10
  13. ^ "Buscar En Mi Web" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  14. ^ Jyrki Nurminen (April 28, 2018). "Live Results : Cage 43". mmaviking.com.
  15. ^ Prates, Fernanda (June 16, 2018). "Cage Warriors 94: Ilia Topuria makes quick work of Brian Bouland". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  16. ^ Altatis, Conan (2019-05-20). "Allstars' Ilia Topuria joins Brave CF; Undefeated MMA fighter to challenge Team Lakay's Stephen Loman?". CONAN Daily. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  17. ^ "KienyKe | El placer de Saber, Ver y Oír Más". KienyKe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  18. ^ Altatis, Conan (2019-09-08). "'Brave 26' results: Dumar Roa vs Felipe Silva, Jon Zarate vs Gabriel Miranda in Bogota, Colombia". CONAN Daily. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  19. ^ "Brave CF 26 | MMA Event". Tapology. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2021-07-10. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  21. ^ Farah Hannoun (2019-11-16). "Brave CF 29 results: Azamat Murzakanov runs through competition to win KHK open weight title". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  22. ^ Farah Hannoun (2019-11-15). "Oh Georgia! Ilia Topuria and Guram Kutateladze score big knockouts at Brave CF 29". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  23. ^ 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). Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  24. ^ Bitter, Shawn (2020-10-10). "UFC Fight Island 5 Results: Ilia Topuria Stays Undefeated in Debut Win Over Youssef Zalal". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  25. ^ Jamal Boussenaf (2020-11-07). "Ilia Topuria neemt het op 5 december op tegen Damon Jackson". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  26. ^ Anderson, Jay (2020-12-05). "UFC Vegas 16 Results: Ilia Topuria Absolutely Floors Damon Jackson". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  27. ^ Farah Hannoun and Danny Segura (2021-03-24). "Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria added to UFC's July 10 event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  28. ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-07-10). "UFC 264 Results: Ilia Topuria Overcomes Awkward Attacks, Finishes Ryan Hall Early". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  29. ^ Dorff, Marcel (2021-10-25). "Movsar Evloev en Ilia Topuria in partij der ongeslagen vechters tijdens UFC 270 in Anaheim". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  30. ^ Heck, Mike (2022-01-11). "Movsar Evloev scratched from UFC 270, Ilia Topuria calls for Dan Ige to replace". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  31. ^ Jay Pettry. "Charles Jourdain to Face Ilia Topuria on Short Notice at UFC 270". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  32. ^ Law, Eddie (2022-01-21). "Ilia Topuria Out Of Charles Jourdain Bout At UFC 270". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  33. ^ "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. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  34. ^ Behunin, Alex (2022-03-19). "UFC London: Ilia Topuria Flatlines Jai Herbert In The Second Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  35. ^ a b "UFC Fight Night 204 bonuses: Nine fighters go home with $50,000". MMA Junkie. 2022-03-19. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  36. ^ "Ilia Topuria". Sherdog. Retrieved 22 February 2021.

External links

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