Ilia Topuria: record, style and what is next

Feb 4, 2025 · By Dan Kessler, Editor

Ilia Topuria in a fighting stance at the UFC Freedom 250 ceremonial weigh-in

Image: U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brittany Primavera, public domain

Who Ilia Topuria is and where he stands now

Ilia Topuria is the UFC's top-ranked lightweight contender and a former champion at both featherweight and lightweight. As of 30 September 2026 his record is 17 wins and 1 loss, according to the UFC athlete page. The UFC rankings updated on 29 September list him first among the lightweight contenders, behind champion Justin Gaethje, and fifth in the men's pound-for-pound rankings.

He was born on 21 January 1997 in Halle, Germany, to Georgian parents, and holds Georgian and Spanish citizenship. He is 29, stands 5ft 7in with a 69 inch reach, and is nicknamed "El Matador". His only defeat came at UFC Freedom 250 on 14 June 2026, where Gaethje stopped him in the fourth round.

How Topuria fights

Topuria is a boxer first. His style is built on precise, heavy punching, with a shoulder roll for defence, and Wikipedia notes that his boxing draws on the Mexican school and on Canelo Alvarez in particular. Most of his big wins came from a clean punch landing at the right moment.

The results back that up. Six of his UFC wins before the Gaethje fight ended by knockout: Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert, Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. The Holloway knockout came at 1:34 of round three, the Oliveira one at 2:27 of round one.

He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, awarded by Jorge and Agustin Climent, and he trained Greco-Roman wrestling in Georgia before moving into MMA. That makes him more than a puncher. In round two at Freedom 250 he hurt Gaethje with body shots, took mount and went for an armbar and a triangle, according to Cageside Press.

The Gaethje fight also showed the other side. After a strong second round, Topuria took heavy damage in rounds three and four as Gaethje rocked him with jabs and kept the pressure on. It was also the first fight of his to go past the third round since the Josh Emmett decision in 2023.

The road to here

Topuria trained under Jorge and Agustin Climent at Climent Club in Alicante, Spain, from 2012 until 2025, and he now works with his own Topuria Team. He turned professional in 2015 on the Spanish circuit and joined the UFC in 2020.

His UFC debut was on 11 October 2020, a unanimous decision over Youssef Zalal. Knockouts of Jackson in December 2020, Hall at UFC 264 in July 2021 and Herbert in March 2022 followed, before a five-round unanimous decision over Emmett on 24 June 2023.

That earned him the featherweight title shot. On 17 February 2024 at UFC 298 he knocked out Volkanovski in round two to become champion. He defended the belt on 26 October 2024 at UFC 308 with a third-round knockout of Holloway, then vacated it on 12 April 2025 to move up to lightweight.

He won the vacant lightweight title on 28 June 2025 at UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, knocking out Oliveira in the first round. The vacancy existed because Islam Makhachev had given up the belt to move to welterweight, and you can read his story in our Islam Makhachev profile. Topuria was the first fighter to win titles in two UFC divisions while unbeaten, and his record includes five Performance of the Night bonuses.

The recent run

Topuria's last four fights are a knockout of Volkanovski, a knockout of Holloway, a knockout of Oliveira and the loss to Gaethje. Between the Oliveira win and the Gaethje fight, Topuria did not fight in the first quarter of 2026, and Gaethje beat Paddy Pimblett for the interim title at UFC 324 in that gap.

Freedom 250 was held on the South Lawn of the White House. Gaethje took over from round three, and Topuria's corner stopped the fight between rounds four and five. Cageside Press reports he could not see out of one eye by then. The bout won Fight of the Night and was the first loss of his professional career.

Reported injuries from the fight include two broken orbital bones and a broken nose, according to Low Kick MMA. A report dated 10 September quoted Dana White as saying Topuria has recovered over roughly three months and is ready to fight.

What happens next

Nothing is booked for Topuria as of 30 September 2026, and the UFC athlete page lists no upcoming fight. Low Kick MMA says he is targeting a return in November or December, but that is a report, not an announcement.

The obvious options are a Gaethje rematch and a fight with Pimblett, both mentioned by White in the report above. Gaethje's manager Ali Abdelaziz said on 23 September that an immediate rematch will not happen and that Topuria has to earn it. Fight Matrix also lists a move up to welterweight to face Makhachev as a long shot.

A win in his next fight would keep him in the title picture at 155 pounds. A second loss would make the question of how he recovers from heavy damage much harder to ignore.

Sources

FAQs

What is Ilia Topuria's record?

Ilia Topuria is 17-1 as of 30 September 2026, per the UFC athlete page. His only loss is the fourth-round corner stoppage against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on 14 June 2026. Before that he had won titles at featherweight and lightweight without losing.

Is Ilia Topuria still a UFC champion?

No. Topuria lost the lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June 2026. He won the featherweight belt from Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024 and vacated it in April 2025, then won the vacant lightweight belt from Charles Oliveira in June 2025. He is now the top-ranked lightweight contender.

What is Ilia Topuria's fighting style?

Topuria is a boxer with heavy hands and a shoulder-roll defence, backed by a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and Greco-Roman wrestling training. Six of his UFC wins before the Gaethje fight were knockouts, including Volkanovski, Holloway and Oliveira, and he also threatened submissions against Gaethje in round two.

Who will Ilia Topuria fight next?

No opponent is confirmed as of 30 September 2026. The UFC athlete page lists no upcoming fight. Dana White has mentioned a Gaethje rematch and a fight with Paddy Pimblett as options, but Gaethje's manager has said an immediate rematch will not happen, so nothing is settled.

Where is Ilia Topuria from?

Topuria was born in Halle, Germany, on 21 January 1997 to Georgian parents and holds both Georgian and Spanish citizenship. After wrestling in Georgia, he trained in Alicante, Spain, where he spent years at Climent Club and earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. He was the first Georgian UFC champion.