The UFC has a new star in its hands. This past weekend at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria secured arguably the most impressive title win of the year so far. The 27-year-old produced a highlight reel knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski to extend his win streak and realise a lifelong dream. Following his win, Topuria had two very clear goals in his mind. First, he wants to fight Conor McGregor, and second; he wants to bring the UFC to Spain. Dana White seems to have agreed to one of Topuria’s demands in the post fight press conference.
While the UFC CEO did not seem very enthusiastic about Topuria facing Conor McGregor’ however, when asked if the UFC is considering going to Spain, White said,
“I want to go to Spain too. We’re going to Spain. If there is a venue available for us, we’ll be there.”
Following this, a journalist asked Dana White if he would be willing to host a UFC event at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. For the uninitiated, The Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid is home to the soccer team Real Madrid.
The ground was recently renovated with a retractable pitch as well as a roof. The stadium is home to one of the most decorated soccer teams in Europe as well as the most followed sports team in the world.
When asked about the Santiago Bernabeu, Dana White had two questions, “How many seats is that? Indoor or outdoor?”. Once Dana White received satisfactory answers for both, he stated that he liked the idea and that it sounded good.
Whether the idea translates into reality remains to be seen. But UFC surely would like to bank on Topuria.
Ilia Topuria, the next big star that the UFC needed?
The UFC is currently in need of fighters to rise to the top. For a long time now, big names such as Conor McGregor and Jon Jones have been extremely sporadic in their activity levels.
To add to that, the likes of Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, among others, either retired or parted ways with the UFC. Therefore, the UFC does not have too many active big names left on the roster.
Topuria’s title win immediately makes him one of the bigger stars in the UFC. ‘El Matador’ has a huge fan base in Europe and especially Spain. And with the performance he put on Saturday night, it is safe to say he has earned himself a huge fan base in the United States as well.
