Ilia Topuria locked horns against Josh Emmett in a 5-round main event this past weekend. ‘El Matador’ rose to the occasion and outclassed Josh for the majority of the bout. In what was arguably the most dominant performance of his MMA career, Topuria secured a unanimous decision victory after a 25-minute masterclass.
The three judges scored the fight 50-44, 50-42, and 49-45 in favor of the 26-year-old Georgian-Spanish fighter. The bout was awarded the Fight of the Night honors, with both athletes taking home an additional cheque of $50,000 each.
WHAT A FIGHT, FOLKS!!!!!! 👏👏👏 #UFCJacksonville pic.twitter.com/lIgir9SW4s
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2023
Ilia Topuria is now 14-0 as a professional and 6-0 in the UFC. Despite receiving praise from the MMA community, Ilia’s girlfriend shares a sort of different sentiment. According to her, the fight should have been stopped earlier for Emmett’s sake.
Topuria’s romantic partner, Giorgina Uzcategui wanted him to take it easy on Josh Emmett
Yesterday, Ilia made an appearance on The MMA Hour in order to discuss his recent fight, future opponents, and more. During a particular segment, Topuria’s girlfriend made a surprising cameo and revealed what it’s like for her to watch her partner fight.
Giorgina Uzcategui, who is the CEO of Future & Energy, wanted her man to ease up on the damage output at times during the recent fight. She briefly spoke with Ariel Helwani on the June 27 episode of the show. “To be honest, I felt really bad for the other guy (Josh Emmett),” Giorgina said. “I was saying, ‘Baby, you should have a little bit of mercy.'”
Helwani then asked Ilia if he showed Josh any mercy in the Octagon. To this, Uzcategui responded, “Well, honestly, he couldn’t have mercy because the guy that was supposed to stop the fight never did, so if one needs to die, it’s not gonna be my guy.”
Before his recent win, ‘El Matador’ finished the likes of Bryce Mitchell, Jai Herbert, and Ryan Hall in his previous Octagon outings. As for Josh, the 38-year-old American suffered a tonne of damage in the bout. Despite multiple lacerations that might have even impacted his vision, the doctors and referee let the fight go the full distance.
What is next for Ilia Topuria?
After a dominant win over Josh Emmett, Ilia Topuria only has elite featherweights in mind for his next fight. ‘El Matador‘ has made it clear that he has the UFC gold in his sights after seemingly declaring himself as the division’s #1 contender this past Saturday.
Specifically, Ilia has stated that he wants to challenge the 145 lbs champion Alexander Volkanovski. But the 34-year-old is currently slated to defend the belt against interim champion Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 on July 8. And chances are, should he defeat Yair, ‘Volk’ might want to run it back against Islam Makhachev at lightweight.
During the post-fight presser, a reporter asked Topuria if he’d consider fighting Max Holloway, should the above scenario turn into a reality. “I’m the next guy in the line, I can wait,” the 26-year-old responded. “One of the best skills I have is patience. If they offer me to fight with Max Holloway in Spain, let’s do it. If not, I’m going to wait for my title shot.”
However, like Alexander, Holloway too has his next fight booked. The former featherweight champion is set to face ‘The Korean Zombie’ on August 26 at UFC Singapore. If Max does beat Chan Sung Jung, it could keep him on schedule for a fight with Topuria, assuming the matchmakers are inclined toward the same.
The end goal for Ilia, however, remains a championship fight with Volkanovski. Should he beat Yair next, ‘El Matador’ wants to be the man to end Alexander’s reign atop the 145 lbs division.