WATCH: Ilia Topuria meeting with Spanish Prime Minister to receive citizenship after championship victory at UFC 298

Ilia Topuria met up with the Prime Minister of Spain, weeks after winning the featherweight belt.

WATCH: Ilia Topuria meeting with Spanish Prime Minister to receive citizenship after championship victory at UFC 298

Ilia Topuria met up with the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez (via X)

Ilia Topuria’s fame shot up rapidly after his KO win against Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria was recently welcomed to do an honorary kickoff in a jam-packed stadium. The UFC featherweight champion recently met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The meeting culminated with Topuria officially becoming a Spanish citizen.

The video is 1 minute and 9 seconds long. It showed the Spanish Prime Minister meeting the newly minted champion.  The duo shook hands, and Ilia Topuria volunteered to give the belt to Pedro Sanchez. However, he declined the offer. The duo then sat and talked for some time. Topuria’s girlfriend was also present with him at the time. They then shook hands outside the building, and the video ended.

YouTube video

The 27-year-old was born in Germany to parents who are Georgians. He relocated to Spain as a teenager and has long represented both countries. Topuria joined the UFC in 2020, boasting an undefeated record. He extended his unbeaten streak to 15-0 after beating Alexander Volkanovski.

Topuria proudly wore both Spanish and Georgian flags throughout his combat sports career. Earning his Spanish citizenship was a massive personal accomplishment for the champion. It showed his deep connection to Spain after moving there from Germany as a youth. Topuria embraced the country that helped shape his path in MMA.

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev go back and forth in a heated verbal war

Ilia Topuria and lightweight king Islam Makhachev were engaged in a heated war of words. Topuria recently challenged Makhachev to a possible crossover super bout between the two champions. He had recently praised Makhachev’s friend and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev engage in a verbal war
Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev engage in a verbal war (via Imago)

Tensions escalated when Topuria reacted to a fake quote attributed to Makhachev. The fabricated quote referred to Topuria as “another short guy” waiting for defeat. Topuria posted a story on his Instagram of Makhachev’s knockout loss to Adriano Martins in response. That remains Makhachev’s only career defeat. Topuria believed he would fight Islam Makhachev after defending his featherweight belt once.

The back-and-forth captured the attention due to both men holding UFC gold. Makhachev didn’t make the “short guy” comments that Topuria reacted to. The quotes were fabricated in a viral meme. But Topuria appeared to fall for it and sparked real tension between the two. It still is just verbal warfare without an actual fight booked. But Topuria and Makhachev have captured the MMA world’s attention.

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