Ilia Topuria has become a huge name in the world of mixed martial arts in a very short time. His mixed martial arts journey started when he was just seven years old and at 27, he now reigns as the UFC’s Featherweight Champion of the world.
Topuria was born in Germany, however, his family did not stay in Germany for long and moved to Georgia when Ilia turned 7.
It was at this time that the young Topuria started practising Greco-Roman wrestling. Born to Georgian parents Zaza Topuria and InGa Bendeliani Topuria, the El Matador currently resides in Spain. He grew up with two sisters, Mari Tlashadze and Ana Tlashadze, and one brother, Aleksandre Topuria.
At the age of 15, Topuria’s parents moved to Alicante, Spain, where a young Ilia started to work on his dream of becoming a UFC Champion.
Over the next few years, Ilia Topuria would go on to dominate the regional circuit, making his professional MMA debut at just 18 years of age. Since then, Topuria has achieved a lot in his mixed martial arts career. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boasts KO wins across two divisions. He is also only the fifth UFC fighter to hold the featherweight strap in the company’s history.
And while all these achievements have brought huge fame and popularity to Ilia Topuria, the Spanish fighter has remained relatively private about his personal life.
Ilia Topuria credits his girlfriend Giorgina Uzcategui Badell ahead of UFC 298
Ilia Topuria is in a relationship with girlfriend Giorgina Uzcategui Badell. The duo are raising a four-year old son together. In conversation with The Independent, Topuria opened up about his son in a rare moment.
Ilia Topuria and his son pic.twitter.com/RNvnHylWKK
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) January 25, 2024
“He calls me every day, supporting me. He speaks perfectly. He’s a man. I don’t know if he’s gonna do MMA. If that’s the call [he makes], I’ll support him in anything he chooses in this life.” When asked if he would like his son to follow in on his footsteps, here’s what he had to say.
“If he wants to fight, I’m gonna support him; if he wants to… I don’t know… study, I’m gonna support him. If it makes him happy, I don’t care. Go for that, because in this life, people are always looking for success. What’s success for me? Success is when you’re happy with yourself, that’s it.”
On the UFC 298 Countdown, Ilia Topuria also opened up on his relationship, showing us a glimpse into his personal life for the very first time. Topuria first met his girlfriend Giorgina Uzcategui Badell at a dinner party. While El Matador did not reveal the exact year when the duo first met, he did reveal his first reaction.
“I met Georgina at a dinner party. I saw her, and said, ‘what a beautiful girl’. One of the best gifts god gave me.”
“She is super helpful. She helps me in so many ways. She helps me realise the best version of myself.” Topuria said about his girlfriend and the support he has received from her over the years.
Ilia Topuria’s girlfriend is not a huge UFC fan
Ilia Topuria has spent more than half of his life studying mixed martial arts, but that doesn’t mean his girlfriend is also a huge MMA fan. On the contrary, when Giorgina Uzcategui Badell first met Ilia Topuria, she had no idea he was a UFC fighter.
“I actually didn’t follow the sport or anything like that. Then I was seeing the videos of him on YouTube and I was like, ‘this is another person. How is that possible?’ He is so sweet and then he is almost killing people.”
“I was like out of all the things you can do in this life, why would you do that one? He is like, ‘because I am the best, I never get punched.’ And I was like, ‘okay perfect.'” Ilia Topuria’s girlfriend reveals.
Giorgina Uzcategui Badell is an entrepreneur and is currently the CEO of Future & Energy company. As per her LinkedIn profile, she is also a licensed real estate agent. Giorgina has a bachelor’s degree in business and administration and a BBA degree from Suffolk University.
Ilia Topuria might not be very active on social media, with right about 100 posts despite over 2.2 Instagram followers, but his girlfriend Giorgina is not a social media shy-type. Ilia is a regular feature in Georgina’s post and the love between the two is quite evident.