Dana White calls new UFC champ Ilia Topuria 'a force' at featherweight – and now he can't wait to go to Spain
Taking a UFC event to Spain was already on Dana White's mind. Now it's squarely on his radar thanks to Ilia Topuria.
ANAEHIM, Calif. – Taking a UFC event to Spain already was on Dana White’s mind. Now it’s squarely on his radar.
That’s because the UFC CEO has a new Georgian-Spanish champion on his roster after Ilia Topuria defeated Alexander Volkanovski by second-round knockout to claim the featherweight title Saturday in the UFC 298 main event at Honda Center.
“We’re going to Spain,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during the UFC 298 post-fight news conference. “… If there’s a venue available for us, we’ll be there.”
That should be music to Topuria’s ears. Earlier in UFC 298 fight week, Topuria spoke of wanting to fight Conor McGregor in Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. And the new champion repeated that desire during his octagon interview with Joe Rogan.
The dream could’ve been easily dashed if the bold, brash and undefeated Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) fell short at UFC 298, but he was impressive against Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC), which didn’t go unnoticed by White.
“A lot of questions going into this thing: never been in a main event like this, never felt the heat, the pressure,” White said. “He couldn’t have looked any better against a Volk who looked really good, too. That fight was heating up. They were exchanging. Topuria looked solid, man – very solid.
“I think he looked great. Volk is one of the greatest of all time, and he’s definitely the greatest in that weight class ever. Topuria looked damn good in his last fight (vs. Josh Emmett), and he looked damn good tonight. If he keeps his head together and continues to do what he’s doing, he’s going to be a force in that division.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.