Growing more and more in popularity ahead of his UFC 317 return, Ilia Topuria’s recent upturn in followers has been questioned by fans this week.
The former featherweight champion, who headlines this weekend’s International Fight Week card, will challenge for his second Octagon crown inside just five years with the promotion.
Having vacated his undisputed featherweight crown earlier this year, the Spaniard will compete for the soon-to-be vacant lightweight crown. Missing out on a grudge fight with Islam Makhachev, Topuria is set to tackle former champion, Brazilian fan-favorite, Charles Oliveira.
A hugely popular star across Europe, given his aggressive fighting style. On top of that, with an impressive unbeaten record, Topuria has emerged as a potential next star for the UFC, in a much-needed period.
Following the retirement of Jon Jones over the weekend, the UFC’s star power is lacklustre to say the least. But if analytics on social media are anything to go by, Topuria may be ready to take the mantle and rise as the next megastar on the promotion’s books.
Gaining north of a staggering 1.2 million followers on Instagram in just a month, Topuria’s count currently sits in the region of 8.6 million.
But some in the MMA community are more than sceptical. Facing accusations of purchasing followers through ‘bot’ accounts, Topuria has been blasted in the comment section of the post.
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Some have even compared Topuria’s stunning rise in popularity to that of ex-UFC star Conor McGregor. “Wtf okay am I trippin; or did he have at least 7m like a couple days ago? Nah wtf bros the next McGregor atp,” A user commented.
However, a slew of others have questioned the legitimacy of this recent upturn in followers.
“Bro Bought 844k followers last night,” A user commented.
While a third user wrote of their disbelief in Topuria’s popularity, commenting, “He is buying followers“, another noted, “He had 7.7 million 2 days ago. And 8.2 million yesterday.”
— THE UFCGUY (@the_ufcguy) June 24, 2025
But nevertheless, given his dominance in the Octagon, Topuria’s star is only set to rise. Furthermore, should he topple Oliveira this weekend in ‘Sin City’, he will have already cemented his legacy as one of the select few to win a title in two weight classes.
Topuria promises another big win at UFC 317
Attempting to win a second UFC title this weekend, Topuria has enjoyed a stunning run as of late. Having already dropped blockbuster wins over former featherweight champions, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, in crunching knockout wins, the Spaniard has run roughshod through the 145-pounders.
And as far as he’s concerned, that run is only set to continue against Sao Paulo star, Oliveira, this weekend. Vowing to make light work of the fan-favorite contender, Topuria has even issued a stark warning that Oliveira only needs to enter the octagon for him to continue his meteoric rise.
“This is what’s going to happen with Charles, he thinks that he has some opportunities. But the reality is, that he has not,” Topuria told Uncrowned this week.
“The only thing he has to do is show up. And I’m going to do the rest. I’m going to finish him in the first round,” he boasted.
