UFC Featherweight Champion, Ilia Topuria, believes his own brother could potentially be a better fighter than him.
Topuria’s older brother, Aleksandre, has signed with UFC and no one is a bigger supporter than “El Matador.” At this time, an opponent and date have not been revealed for Aleksandre’s UFC debut.
When the time comes for Aleksandre to make his walk to the Octagon, Ilia believes that fans will know just how good he is.
Ilia Topuria Vouches For His Brother: “Maybe He’s Even Better Than Me”
During an interview with MMAJunkie.com, Ilia Topuria could barely contain his excitement when speaking about his brother, Aleksandre, now entering the ranks of the UFC.
“I’m telling you: He’s the next UFC world champion,” Ilia told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “Maybe he’s even better than me. He’s a very, very good fighter. Very technical. People will enjoy his fights.
“Of course, he can do the same path as mine. He has the level. He will decide.”
As for Ilia, he’s gearing up for his first UFC Featherweight Championship defense. It’s a big one, as Topuria will collide with former 145-pound ruler Max Holloway, who is coming off one of the most sensational knockouts in UFC history when he face-planted Justin Gaethje with just one second to spare.
Time will tell if Ilia’s prediction of a KO win over Max Holloway comes to fruition, as well as his high hopes for his brother’s run with the top MMA promotion in the world. If Aleksandre is anything like his brother inside the Octagon, then fight fans will surely be quite pleased with what they see.
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Ultimate Ground FIG /
I hate it here. I want to go home. Alta ruined our lives.
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Aleksandre Topuria will make his highly anticipated UFC debut in February.
Topuria (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the older brother of featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, has been targeted to meet Cody Haddon (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a bantamweight bout Feb. 9 at UFC 312 from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The bout was first reported by social media account Australian MMA.
Topuria hasn’t competed since a first-round TKO win in May 2023. Although he started his professional career in 2015, the 28-year-old has competed just six times in nine years. Three of his five wins have come by finish.
Haddon, a Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, made good in his octagon debut when he defeated Dan Argueta by unanimous decision this past October at UFC Fight Night 244. The 26-year-old Aussie’s lone-career loss came to former UFC flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg.
The latest UFC 312 lineup now includes:
- Champ Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland – for middleweight title
- Champ Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez – for women’s strawweight title
- Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Anshul Jubli vs. Quillan Salkilld
- Stewart Nicoll vs. Rei Tsuruya
- Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Tom Nolan
- Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos
- Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira
- Cody Haddon vs. Aleksandre Topuria