Ilia Topuria (8-0) arrives on Fight Island ready to finish his ninth straight foe in a row. The Climent Fight Club product out of Alicante, Spain has submitted seven of eight opponents. The Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu looks to be an absolute force on the mat. However, he faces a tough grappler in “The Moroccan Devil” Youssef Zalal (10-2).
Ilia’s adolescence is relatively unknown for such an intriguing undefeated prospect. He was born in the Republic of Georgia in 1997. Judging by his Spanish skills, he must’ve moved to Spain early on in his life. Now 23 years old, Topuria has found his second home on the Southeast coast of Spain, Alicante, the second-largest Valencian region city.
Whoever the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach is over at Climent Club deserves an award for their work with Ilia. Since his professional debut in 2015, Topuria has tapped out seven of eight opponents, six in the first round! He has never seen round three and the one fighter he didn’t submit, he instead knocked him clean out in round one.
Ilia Topuria touches down in Abu Dhabi for a Fight Island debut on Saturday, October 10. He faces Youssef Zalal, who has gone undefeated in the UFC since his debut in February 2020 (3-0).
Shaping up to be a fantastic matchup on the mat, it’s the first fight on the UFC Fight Island 5 main card and it starts at 8 PM ET.
Ilia “El Matador” Topuria | 8-0 | 5’7 145 lbs. | Age 23 | Reach 69” | Orthodox Stance | Fighting Out of Alicante, Spain
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