Ilia Topuria's street fighting past revealed as UFC superstar's mother inserts herself into Islam Makhachev beef
11/04/2024 11:00 AM
Ilia Topuria’s journey to become the UFC featherweight champion began in Rustavi, Georgia, and it involved many street fights, according to his mother.
This past October, Ilia Topuria cemented himself as one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters on the planet when he knocked out Max Holloway at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
The 27-year-old champion now stands as the youngest fighter in the UFC to be currently holding a title and he is already considering his chances of becoming a two-weight world champion.
Ilia Topuria’s mother details his street-fighting past following Islam Makhachev feud
Even prior to Topuria’s recent fight against Holloway, the Spaniard talked about the potential of a fight against current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, stating that it would have to be in the Octagon because if it was in the street, he would have to pay for Makhachev’s medical bills.
This ignited a feud between Topuria and Makhachev’s team, with Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov jumping to the defense of Makhachev, asking Topuria, ‘What do you know about fighting in the streets, European boy?’
Well, according to the mother of Ilia and Aleksandre, they actually know an awful lot about fighting in the streets and it was apparently a daily occurrence of their childhood in Rustavi, Georgia.
“It was not rare, it was a daily routine. Whenever they were in the streets, they were fighting. Imagine: multiple boys would appear… They would come out and tell you that they wanted your hat or your belt. There were three ways – giving up, running away, and fighting,” Ilia’s mother, Inga wrote in the book, ‘Mother & Ilia’.
“Ilia and Aleksandre always preferred to fight, and at the end of the day, they always had their hat and belt. It was not about the things. It was about securing and defending their place in the streets… The way to their biggest championship belts started with keeping their own, ordinary belts in the streets of Rustavi,” she continued.
Aleksandre Topuria signed with the UFC alongside his brother earlier this year, and he is still awaiting his debut in the promotion.
Ilia Topuria wants to become the first fighter to submit Islam Makhachev
Immediately after Topuria’s title defense against Holloway, the UFC sent former foe, Alexander Volkanovski into the ring to have a brief face-off with the champion.
With the promotion indicating there will be a rematch between ‘El Matador’ and Alexander ‘The Great’, Topuria has decided he will take a little bit of time away from the Octagon.
Despite that, the 27-year-old is still confident that not long down the line, he and Makhachev will eventually share the Octagon, and he can become the first fighter to submit the Russian wrestler.
