Ilia Topuria never gets tired of making history. The Spanish-Georgian won the UFC lightweight championship last night. He did so after destroying Brazilian Charles Oliveira in the first round, continuing his enormous legacy. After 17 fights, Topuria remains undefeated and has big plans for the future... To the point that he has already chosen his next challenger: Paddy Pimblett.
Ilia Topuria will fight Pimblett
After the fight ended and with two belts on his body, Ilia Topuria brought up his next opponent, British fighter Paddy Pimblett. He did so by mocking him and ending with shoving, making their rivalry clear. This goes back years, as both have had a bad relationship outside of the fighting competition.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Topuria was blunt: "This is the fight I want. Because with Charles (Oliveira), I had a bit of a difficult situation because I liked him a lot. He's a great human being. But in the end, I thought: This is competition. I have to do my job, period. But with Paddy I'm really going to enjoy giving him a beating."
There will be a fight at Bernabéu
A well-known fan of Real Madrid, Ilia Topuria has always dreamed of having a fight defending the title in the capital of Spain. Not just anywhere, because he wants to fill the more than 87,000 seats available at Santiago Bernabéu.
This is something he has been fighting for a long time, trying to convince Dana White, owner of the UFC. As of today, the Spanish-Georgian is one of the best and most recognized fighters in the company... and the American wants to keep him happy.
Asked about the possibility of fighting at Bernabéu, Topuria has already set a date: "2026, Santiago Bernabéu, it's going to happen, it's inevitable. It would be like a Champions match: Spain, Georgia, all the English there (because of Paddy Pimblett). It would be wild."
Maximum happiness at Madrid
Florentino is aware of this possibility and has already discussed it on several occasions with Ilia Topuria. UFC has the doors of Santiago Bernabéu open as long as he fights and is the main event. This is the plan for the upcoming battle against Paddy Pimblett, which wouldn't take place until next year.
This would be the first time UFC comes to Spain and it would do so in an unbeatable setting. Santiago Bernabéu packed to cheer for Ilia Topuria.