The Ultimate Fighting Championship is on the verge of crowning its next major star.
Fittingly, this potential shift in leadership for the sport`s top promotion is happening around four years after Conor McGregor, the longtime face of the UFC, seemingly had his final fight.
While many saw Sean O`Malley as McGregor`s potential successor, recent defeats have dimmed his prospects.
Instead, the fighter set to take `The Notorious“ place as a leading figure is Ilia Topuria, a Georgian-born Spaniard.
Topuria, the former featherweight champion, is poised to make further history early Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas.
The undefeated Topuria will challenge popular former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the vacant 155lbs belt, previously held by Islam Makhachev.
Achieving the rare feat of becoming the tenth two-weight champion in UFC history would elevate Topuria to a new level of stardom, one he always believed was his destiny.
Born in Halle, Germany, in 1997, Topuria, 28, is the son of refugees who fled the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia in the 1990s. It was in Germany that he and his younger brother, Aleksandre, first began practicing Greco-Roman wrestling.
The family returned to Georgia in 2003, where the brothers continued wrestling. Seeking better opportunities, Topuria`s parents, Zaza and Inga, moved the family to Alicante, Spain, in 2012.
Soon after arriving in Spain, his mother`s chance encounter with a man with `cauliflower ears` led the brothers to the Climent gym, where they began their mixed martial arts training under brothers Agustin and Jorge Climent.
Their dedication to MMA was so strong that both brothers asked their father for permission to drop out of school in their mid-teens to fully commit to their fighting dreams.
Ilia recounted this period in 2022, explaining that around age 15, he and Aleksandre approached their father about leaving school to train full-time. Their father gave his approval on the condition that they dedicate themselves completely. Topuria noted this early focus and the difficulty of entering the UFC from Spain (compared to the US) contributed to his relatively young debut in the promotion.
Just three years after starting MMA, at age 18, Topuria made his professional debut. He quickly dominated the regional and European scenes, securing eight consecutive finishes, seven via submission. The UFC signed him in October 2020, and he has remained undefeated, convincingly beating opponents on his path to becoming featherweight champion.
He was crowned featherweight king in February 2024 with a spectacular second-round knockout of popular champion Alexander Volkanovski. In his previous fight in October 2023, he achieved what many thought impossible by knocking out the famously durable former featherweight champion Max Holloway.
Topuria`s impressive performances, especially his title wins, have turned him into a major star in Georgia, Spain, and the Spanish-speaking world. He boasts a large social media following, has been honored by his childhood favorite football club Real Madrid (presented at the Bernabeu after beating Volk), and is friends with legends like Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
His global profile is set to soar even higher if he becomes a two-weight champion, especially if he achieves it in a similarly dominant fashion. Despite his growing fame, he reportedly doesn`t crave the spotlight.
The opportunity to become the biggest star in the UFC is within Topuria`s grasp. He now just needs to seize it decisively.
Percy Harlow