It’s UFC 298 fight week and we’ve got a very exciting PPV event this Saturday. A very solid undercard with a couple of prospects trying to make statements and reach some new heights, we’ve got the news that another prospect signed with the organization.
Ilia Topuria stole Alexander Volkanovski’s belt at #UFC298 media day and the two exchanged some words 👀🏆 #UFC298 #UFC #MMA
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) February 14, 2024
The news came from his younger brother, who is one half of this Saturday’s main event – Ilia Topuria, confirming that his brother Alexsandre had officially signed with the premier MMA promotion and will soon step into the cage.
Ilia Topuria’s Brother Inks Deal with UFC
‘El Matador’ is preparing for the fight of his life. He seems primed for greatness, with some spectacular performances thus far in the UFC. Although, he is not only showing talent inside the Octagon, but also outside of it, by garnering a lot of attention with his brash personality and almost dismissive assessment of his opponents.
Some people love it and some people absolutely don’t. One thing is for certain: Ilia is a popular name who is starting to polarize the fans and when people take sides – the money goes up. El Matador seems to be following in Conor McGregor’s footsteps, with many fans drawing comparisons of the two fighters, right before the moment they’ve got their first championship opportunities.
With Topuria having more Instagram followers than the champ and one of the absolute best pound-for-pound fighters in the world Alexander Volkanovski, we can say that the Spanish-Georgian has clear superstar potential. Now, his brother is joining him in the UFC and that has to be another great uplift for Ilia, with the fight just around the corner.
Will Alexsandre Topuria be Successful in the UFC?
Judging by his brother’s skill, strength and athletic ability – we can say that Alexsandre has got one of the best featherweight fighters in the world as a training and a sparring partner. Recently, in an interview with Jon Anik, Ilia confirmed that his brother will fight shortly after his bout against Volkanovski, in the upcoming months.
Labeling his older brother a ‘very exciting fighter’ with a complete skill set, El Matador assures those watching that they’ll love what’s in store with Alexsandre. ‘El Cazador’ (translates to the ‘Hunter’) will have a lot of talent to hunt, because he will compete in one of the most stacked divisions in all of MMA – the bantamweight division.
Lightweight and welterweight are in most fans’ eyes the most talent stacked divisions in the past several years, but bantamweights have a very good argument and this division is getting increasingly stronger, in the past couple of weeks.
Bekzat Almakhan, a new signing from Kazakhstan, is already scheduled to fight one of the most dangerous bantamweights in the world (Umar Nurmagomedov) and now we will have another high-profile talent in that pool.
Alexsandre Topuria has a professional MMA record of 5-1, with all of his victories coming inside the distance (3 KO/TKOs, 2 SUBs). His only loss was against Ivo Ivanov in 2015. It was an extremely grueling and competitive bout, which saw two competitors wrestle and grapple a lot, with Topuria almost getting a proper armbar locked in, in that 3rd deciding round.
His last fight was in May of last year, where he achieved victory via ground and pound against Johan Segas, on the Spanish regional scene. All that we know is that the older brother comes from the same background as Ilia, so we can for sure expect some competitive and thrilling matches from him, in the UFC.
How far can he go? With six professional fights and a shark tank that is UFC’s Bantamweight division – it’s really difficult to say right now, but we are excited to see El Cazador make his UFC debut!
https://mmasucka.com/2024/02/14/ufc-298-5-preliminary-fights-to-watch/
