UFC Champ Ilia Topuria Rubs Shoulders With Bellingham, Vini Jr and Sergio Ramos at Santiago Bernabeu

UFC Champ Ilia Topuria Rubs Shoulders With Bellingham, Vini Jr and Sergio Ramos at Santiago Bernabeu

Byron Pillay
February 26, 2024 at 12:50 PM
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Real Madrid
Spain
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Jude Bellingham logo
J.Bellingham
Real Madrid logoMEngland logo
Vinícius logo
Vinícius
Real Madrid logoFBrazil logo
Sergio Ramos logo
S. Ramos
Sevilla logoDSpain logo
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SPA La Liga
Spain
  • Ilia Topuria became the first Spanish UFC champion when he beat Alexander Volkanovski
  • The new Featherweight champion came out before Real Madrid and Sevilla's La Liga game
  • Jude Bellingham was unavailable to play in the game but did get to pose with the champion

The UFC’s new Featherweight title holder is enjoying the perks of being a world champion.

Spain’s Ilia Topuria received a rousing reception when he showed up at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Topuria was a special guest ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga encounter against Sevilla.

Ilia Topuria was a special guest at the game between Real Madrid and Sevilla.
UFC Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria made a special appearance at the La Liga fixture between Real Madrid and Sevilla. Image: DAX Images.
Source: Getty Images

The Featherweight champ, who beat Alexander Volkanovski for the title at UFC 298, returned to his home country and received a standing ovation from the football fans.

El Matador walked out onto the pitch before the game, meeting some of the stars like Sergio Ramos and Vinicius Junior.

He also posed with Los Blancos’ new star, Jude Bellingham, who could not feature in the game due to an injury.

UFC coming to Spain?

With Topuria becoming the first Spanish world champion, there have been talks about whether the organisation would consider going to Spain.

UFC President Dana White recently spoke about the possibility, Essentially Sports reported.

“If there is an arena available, we will bring the UFC to Spain,” he said.

A journalist then floated the idea that the Bernabeu could be used, and White seemed intrigued that the stadium could accommodate so many fans.

UFC Featherweight champion calls out Conor McGregor

Sports Brief reported how new UFC Featherweight champ Ilia Topuria has issued his first challenge.

Topuria won the tile when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298.

The Spaniard then wasted no time calling out Conor McGregor, a man who fought at Featherweight before.

Topuria knocks out Volkanovski at UFC 298

Sports Brief also reported how Topuria became the new champion of the Featherweight division at UFC 298.

The Spaniard became the first champion from his country when he knocked out Volkanovski in the second round.

Fight fans who watched the title bout described former champion Volkanovski's loss as the end of an era in the UFC.

Authors
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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.