AIn addition to being one of the fashionable men of the main mixed martial arts league, the UFC, Ilia Topuria has become a figure to follow. The results, his image and increasingly ambitious requests say so to show that he is much more than the main featherweight contender along with Alexander Volkanovski. ‘El Matador’ has ambition to transcend and in that plan he could be the one who can give, parallel to his career inside the octgon, the next leap to sport in Spain. And it cannot be ruled out that it is at the hands of Gerard Piqu.
A curious union, although not so much. They met on a plane heading to Las Vegas, as Topuria was traveling, in the middle of camp to prepare the fight for the world featherweight title, to ‘Sin City’ to participate in the press conferences that the UFC organized. Piqué was on that trip… and he joined in a declaration of intentions.
“We are seeing if we form a promoter in Spain,” the Spaniard acknowledged to ‘ESPN’ after that press conference. It was rumored because, for example, his brother Aleksandre participated in the WOW league -national- and Ilia was always seen by his fights. The difference is Piqué, former center back for Barcelona and the Spanish National Team and a successful businessman thanks to Kosmos (Davis Cup, Kings League…). “We had not met, but he really likes the sport. I hope he is in my fight. They do things well,” added the five from the pen lists.
Ilia Topuria: “I want to fight at the Santiago Bernabu, it is a legendary place”
It will be a key boost for Spanish mixed martial arts. In 2024 the possibility of a UFC event is very high. “We want to take her, it is my wish. Before, no one had any idea and they said it was a sport for savages. Now everyone wants it,” Topuria explained to MARCA. With the help of Piqu it could well be to create an event within the mantle of the UFC or its own promoter. A whole range of options.
Ilia Topuria, therefore, continues to expand the boundaries of the sport. Present in the octgon, where he will seek to be world champion, alongside other references such as Joel González – who will return against Klein on the evening in Saudi Arabia – and who knows if the next step is with Gerard Piqu.
