Triple-Champ or New BMF? Ilia Topuria Rather Shines in ‘Mr Miyagi’ Role with Son in Dazzling Movie Advert

UFC Star and newly crowned champ Ilia Topuria stars in 'Karate Kid: Legends' promo, a remake of cult classic martial arts film about an underdog.

Triple-Champ or New BMF? Ilia Topuria Rather Shines in ‘Mr Miyagi’ Role with Son in Dazzling Movie Advert

UFC's Ilia Topuria cameos in sizzling promo for new movie (Source: X)

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UFC 318 PPV main event saw the first title defense of the BMF belt. Knockout artist, global attraction, and UFC’s 10th two-weight champ Ilia Topuria is smack in the middle of the conversation for that matchup. The newly 155-pound king has already touted some next challenges as the world awaits it. However, this week, he’s viral for a whole other reason.

Ilia Topuria warrants his fame and growing status given how he backs up his cockiness. He cut his UFC 317 five-round war short with a first-round shock KO over Charles Oliveira, and captured vacant gold. Now, he stretches on the fame with a new movie advert, which isn’t his first foray into blockbusters. The crisp boxer did a promo for Daredevil: Born Again, a continuation of the same, but for Marvel Television.

Many analysts bill he deserves a push from UFC execs to hog more gold and glory. As early as UFC 298, the ‘El Matador’ has also been on tap for a PPV headliner and UFC’s debut in Spain. Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner backed the Spanish staple as the biggest bona fide star right now for the 80,000+ seater Santiago Bernabeu

Topuria carries his fame well from headlining 2025 IFW Festivities, to overtaking the promotion’s #1 pound-for-pound. From starring in a 1/1 $101,000 ‘Topps’ set to edging out Conor McGregor’s notoriety as another Forbes España’s ’30 Under 30′ A-lister. This week, Topuria blazingly starred in a TV Spot advert for the Karate Kid: Legends movie!

For the uninitiated, this Jackie Chan-Ben Wang starring martial arts flick is a continuation of Chan’s 2010 remake. It even brings in another world, combining with (OG Karate Kid) Ralph Macchio from the Cobra Kai (2018–2025) series. Akin to the original Mr. Miyagi niche “wax-on, wax-off” training, Topuria trains his son, Hugo, in the advert.

At the end, Wang makes a cameo and gifts them the ‘Miyagi Do’ Karate and combined Dojo bonsai headband, instead of the in-universe iconic “Rising Sun” headband. Topuria’s minimalistic training montage and the whole promo have gone quite viral. The fighter truly deserves his fame; one rival, though, is not keen on the connotations of his success or any comparison.

Conor McGregor blasts Khabib Nurmagomedov after rival makes comparisons with Ilia Topuria

The comparisons between McGregor and the second Euro-striker and global fame to follow suit, Ilia Topuria, have been a long-time coming. Even ‘The Notorious’ can’t ignore those back tattoos, dominant striking style, mimicking iconic moments or the tacky one-liners and cockiness with which his own fame skyrocketed.

Ilia Topuria deemed to better than UFC rival Conor McGregor
Ilia Topuria deemed to better than UFC rival Conor McGregor (Source: X)

Then there’s the fact Topuria made the 155-pound jump for a super fight against former No.1 P4P fighter, Islam Makhachev. McGregor boasts much of his fame similarly to his iconic rivalry with his coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In a recent media interview for ‘Hustle’ Vlog), ‘The Eagle’ dumbed down the comparisons in this new era rivalry. He claimed Topuria, although a rival, is yearning to be a ‘good guy,’ unlike the contentious McGregor. The latter had quite a brutal reply to it:

Fighting’s biggest bi*ch yapping out of his fat hole again
Cough cough.

Conor McGregor said in a now-defunct tweet

McGregor and Nurmagomedov have been exchanging insults for years, ever since their UFC 229 grudge bout. Most recently, McGregor ripped his fellow Irishman, Paul Hughes, for associating with the enemy camp. It’s been seven years since their UFC 229 PPV main event showdown, and the tension between Nurmagomedov and McGregor is still palpable.

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