This Tuesday, Ilia Topuria was received by the Mayor of Toledo, and a street was named after him in the city.
Ever since knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to become the featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria has transformed into one of the biggest stars the promotion has ever seen.
Not long after his title win, ‘El Matador’ was granted his Spanish citizenship by the Prime Minister of Spain, with him having moved to Alicante in 2012.
Since becoming the featherweight king and emphatically defending his title against Max Holloway at UFC 308, the 28-year-old has continued to bring eyes to the sport in the region.
Ilia Topuria reveals new fight nickname during press conference
This Tuesday, Topuria met with the Mayor of Toledo as part of Toledo’s program to become the European City of Sport in 2025.
During the meeting, it was announced that the 28-year-old will now have a street named after him in the city, ‘Paseo Ilia Topuria.’
“I’m thrilled to have been given this privilege in a city like Toledo, which has embraced three cultures,” Topuria said during a press conference.
Topuria is going into a hugely important part of his career after officially vacating his featherweight title to permanently move up to the lightweight division.
Ahead of a new stage in his career, Topuria revealed that he will go into it with ‘a new identity’, stating that he will no longer sport the nickname ‘El Matador’ which has served him extremely favorably.
Despite claiming he would wait until his next fight to reveal his new nickname, he did so during the press conference this Tuesday.
“El Matador is something that has accompanied me throughout my entire sporting career, throughout my entire trajectory, and it’s something that has led me to the new nickname.
“It’s what I always say. You need to believe me. You need to see to believe. I believe it first, and then I see it. So the nickname that will accompany me in my next fights is going to be ‘La Leyenda’,” he revealed.
‘La Leyenda’ translates to ‘The Legend’, with the 28-year-old continuously looking to leave his mark on the sport.
Ilia Topuria branded a liar ahead of lightweight move
After continuously chasing a fight against the current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, Topuria’s move up to 155lbs has been criticized by several legends of the sport.
Longtime lightweight contender Michael Chandler has also branded Topuria as a liar, suggesting that he is lying about his walk-around weight.
Although fans continue to salivate over the potential fight between Topuria and Makhachev, it is unclear whether the promotion will go down that route immediately.