SUMMARY
- At UFC 298, Alexander Volkanovski failed to defend his featherweight belt against Ilia Topuria.
- Topuria lands a massive blow in Volkanovski's face and knocks him out.
Ilia Topuria won the UFC featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round of the main event of the UFC 298. The Spaniard captured his first title in the UFC and extended his MMA record to an impressive 15-0 record.
Topuria’s win brought some big reactions in Spain. The biggest one came from Spanish center-back Sergio Ramos. The former Real Madrid defender took to Instagram and shared an Instagram story to deliver a message to the new UFC featherweight champion.
Sergio Ramos congratulates Ilia Topuria after UFC 298
Sergio Ramos shared the moment when Topuria was crowned as the new UFC featherweight champion. He was watching the event live on his laptop. He wrote in his Instagram story (translated to English): “What a moment, brother. Don Ilia Topuria. Congratulations bug. Enjoy it, you deserve it.”
The center-back was excited to see his fellow Spaniard bring UFC glory to his country with an amazing knockout. The championship will prompt the UFC to hold one of its upcoming numbered events in Spain. Alexander Volkanovski also stated in his post-match interview that he wants his rematch for this title in Spain.
Ilia Topuria explains his connection to Sergio Ramos
This isn’t the first time Ramos has shown his support for Ilia Topuria. The center-back of Sevilla was in attendance at UFC Jacksonville in June 2023, when Topuria grabbed headlines for his win over Josh Emmett. Ramos met Topuria before and after the main event to show support for his fellow countrymen.
Topuria revealed in an interview on The MMA Hour how he got in contact with Sergio Ramos. The UFC fighter revealed that Ramos texted him out of the blue on social media. The center-back revealed his plan to watch Topuria in action while he was on vacation.
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The featherweight was shocked by this message but was excited to see such a big figure in Spain in his corner for one of his biggest fights. Ilia Topuria is a Georgia native but currently resides in Spain. He has a big following in both countries and has previously stated that the UFC can sell out Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for a big event in the future.
Since Topuria is the champion now, a UFC event at the renowned stadium of Real Madrid can become a reality in the future. Sergio Ramos used to play at Santiago Bernabéu for Real Madrid for almost a decade. Now it might be time for Ilia Topuria to showcase his skills at the legendary venue.