Spain’s first-ever UFC champion Ilia Topuria got a standing ovation from the 75,000-strong crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu last Sunday.
Fresh off winning the UFC featherweight championship from Alexander Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria wasted no time in going back home and presenting his belt to his countrymen. There was no better way to do it than at the legendary Santiago Bernabeu where Real Madrid hosted Sevilla last weekend.
Topuria was greeted with a rousing ovation as he descended onto the pitch, greeted by Real Madrid captain Nacho and Sevilla captain Sergio Ramos. Topuria even had the chance to kick the game ball, to the delight of Los Blancos’ faithful.
With Spain’s latest sports hero on hand, Real Madrid went on to beat Sevilla 1-0 through a Luka Modric goal in the 81st minute. The victory puts Madrid eight points clear at the top of La Liga.
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👏 ¡@Topuriailia hizo el saque de honor antes del #RealMadridSevillaFC!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 25, 2024
👊 @UFCEspanol pic.twitter.com/ggEQKYSKJL
Before he won the belt, Topuria expressed his hope to bring the UFC to Spain for the first time. Now that he has the belt, the newly-minted champion is talking about bringing a UFC event to the capital, hoping to make history as the first UFC event to ever be held in a football stadium… and there aren’t much more iconic than the Santiago Bernabeu.
A couple of days earlier, Topuria was a visitor at the Aston Martin Real Madrid auto dealership. There, Topuria received a special gift from former Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso who gave the new UFC champion an autographed cap as a souvenir.
Aston Martin Madrid also took care of Topuria’s transportation for the duration of his visit to Real Madrid. Contrary to reports that he was given the brand new Aston Martin DB12 as a gift, GT Rentals lent Ilia the world’s first ‘Super Tourer’ while he was in town.
While it would have been sweet if he was gifted the $250K (~$381K AUD) car, there’s no doubt that Topuria had a blast during his visit to Real Madrid.
Topuria recorded a sensational second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at the main event of UFC 298 last February 17th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The Spaniard ended Volkanovski’s three-year-plus stranglehold of the featherweight division and became the first UFC champion representing Spain.