Ilia Topuria, 28, is a Georgian and Spanish mixed martial artist who became a subject of media portrayals after he made his debut in 2015. The 5 ft 8 in tall fighter competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and continues to stay on top of his game. Away from the ring, Ilia Topuria is a loving partner to Giorgina Uzcategui Badell with whom he shares a son.
Short Biography of Ilia Topuria
Topuria was born on January 21, 1997, in Halle Westfalen, Germany and he is currently 28 years old. Both his parents; Zaza and InGa Bendeliana are German. Topuria is not the only one born to his parents as he has one brother and two sisters.
The 28-year-old had his childhood split between Germany, Georgia, and Spain. He moved to Georgia at the age of 7 and 8 years later, he relocated to Spain with his family.
Ilia Topuria wanted to be a fighter since he was a kid
Ilia Topuria began practicing Greco-Roman Wrestling in school when his family moved to Georgia. He was only 7 then and his fire and passion to compete never died. When he moved to Alicante in Spain, he started practicing Martial arts at the Climent Club and he never stopped practicing till he made his career debut.
He Made His Professional Debut in 2015 and He Currently Has an Impressive Career Record
Ilia Topuria made his professional debut in local competitions in 2015. He began his career with 4 straight submission wins on the Spanish regional scene. He also won a belt in the Mix Fight Events promotion.
The 28-year-old made his first international fight in Cage MMA Finland in 2018. In May of the same year, he became the first Georgian black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu alongside his brother Alex Topuria.
He later received the opportunity to fight for the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Championship at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium. Unfortunately, Ilia failed to get the belt because he did not make the agreed weight.
Ilia Topuria signed with Brave Combat Federation in 2019. He also made his debut in the promotion in Bogota, Colombia, defeating opponent Luis Gomez in the first round by submission; which led him to get the award for best performance of the night. On November 15, 2019, in Bahrain, he won his second fight in BRAVE by defeating Steven Goncalves by KO in the first round. So far, the German-born has maintained an impressive career record.
As of the time of writing, Ilia Topuria has had 14 matches and 14 wins. He won 4 of his matches by knockout, 8 by submission, and 2 by decision. He has also clinched Performance of the Night twice (vs Jai Herbert and Byce Mitchell) at the UFC. This is in addition to the Fight of the Night honor given to him (vs Josh Emmett). At the Mix Fight Events, he has won the MFE Featherweight Championship. On MMAjunkie, he won the 2022 December Submission of the Month (vs Bryce Mitchell).
He is 5 ft 8 in tall
The professional mixed martial artist stands at a height of 5 ft 8 and this is equivalent to 173 cm. His height puts him in the average range for athletes in the MMA. Although the fighter is not exceptionally tall, his weight, reach, and skill have set him in an advantageous position to win his games. He weighs 145lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb). Ilia Topuria further has a reach of 69 in (175 cm).
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Other Interesting Facts About Ilia Topuria
1. His Father was a huge influence on his MMA career
Topuria has said that his father taught him about MMA and the UFC when he was much younger. According to him, MMA was not very popular in Spain; as such not many people knew about the sport. He also said that his father was a wrestler even though he never went pro.
2. The MMA fighter dropped out of School at 15
Topuria has said that he decided to drop out of school at the age of 15 to train for the UFC. He said that he discovered his passion was to fight and not to go to school and his father gave him approval.
3. He shares a son with his partner, Georgina Uzcategui Badell
Giorgina Uzcategui Badell is the longtime partner of Ilia Topuria. Georgina shares in the fame of her husband but she also has a thriving business career of her own. The celebrity wife is an entrepreneur at Future & Energy. She also shares a son with Ilia Topuria. The couple always display their affection for their son and commitment to giving him the best in life.
4. Ilia Topuria was involved in an Altercation at a Spanish Bar
On January 4, 2023, camera footage surfaced that showed a man shoving Topuria a few times in a Spanish bar. After provoking the UFC featherweight, the unnamed man received some punches. Topuria did not make a public comment after the incident. Similarly, at UFC London last March, Topuria engaged in a highly-publicized confrontation with U.K. star Paddy Pimblett, which ended with Pimblett throwing a bottle of hand sanitizer at the Georgian.
5. How Rich is He?
At the time of writing, Ilia Topuria’s net worth is estimated at about $1 million. He has made this sum from his rewarding MMA career. Moreover, his victory against Josh Emmett earned him a bonus of about $130,000 including his base salary of about $80,000 and a $50,000 performance of the night bonus.
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