Ilya Topria’s younger brother, Alexandre Topria, gave him elite corner advice on winning the UFC featherweight title.
Ilya became the featherweight champion after defeating Alexander Volkanovskiy by second-round knockout at UFC 298 in February of this year. The Georgian-Spanish is scheduled to make his first title defense against Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Ahead of the battle, Topria revealed how her brother helped her win against “The Great.”
When Ilia returned to his corner after the first round, Alexander noted that Volkanovski’s left arm was alert. Aleksandr also advised Ilya to apply pressure once the second round begins and Volkanovski approaches him.
“His left arm is pretty low. He’s going to put his left arm here. Once we start, let’s close the distance a little bit if we can,” Ilia said through an interpreter in the UFC 308 countdown video. “Continue with your right arm and return to the starting position. Don’t stay there…if he comes towards you, apply more pressure, Ilia.”
UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway takes place Saturday at 2pm ET on ESPN+. Order now!
Listening to his brother, “El Matador” got off Volkanovski and landed a four-punch combo that earned him an immediate stoppage.
“After the first round, when I went to the corner, my brother told me, ‘Work on the counter with the jab.’ … In the second round, he started to slow down a little bit … he threw a jab at me. I did.” “One, two, three, four, boom…game over, friend,” Ilia said.
Ilya has both Georgian and Spanish citizenship, while Alexander’s citizenship is currently only Georgian. The 28-year-old has all five of his professional wins coming within one round, with his only loss coming in 2015. “El Conquistador” also signed with the UFC in August of this year, potentially fighting in both the bantamweight and bantamweight divisions. Featherweight. Ilya has previously said that his brother could be even better than him and has championship potential.
