Ilia Topuria known as “El Matador” is the current king of featherweight division and has already left his mark. Topuria claimed the belt by knocking out arguably the featherweight GOAT Alexander Volkanovski in 2 rounds. And in his first title defence at UFC 308 he knocked out another all time great Max Holloway in 3 rounds. These two incredible wins have propelled Topuria to a new level of stardom. So much so that Chael Sonnen believes Topuria will eclipse Conor McGregor.
Chael Sonnen Believes Ilia Topuria Will Surpass Conor McGregor
Former middleweight contender, MMA commentator, and general loud mouth Chael Sonnen discussed Topuria’s popularity. He delved into the topic on his Youtube channel in a short video.
Sonnen’s primary focus is on how popular Topuria is in Spain. he mentions Topuria’s relationship with Pedro Snachez Spain’s President as well as Spanish actors and athletes specifically footballers. This was seen during fight week with the presence of Spanish football star Sergio Ramos who plays for Real Madrid Topuria’s favourite team. Topuria was also present for a kick off at a Real Madrid game and the crowds response was unbelievable. Topuria has also personally spoken with the President Sanchez and received a congratulations from him after winning the belt
Stardom
The main take away is Topuria is very popular in Spain so much so Dana White is considering doing a UFC event in Spain. And he would be a fool not to there is a massive untapped market. Topuria could very easily sell out a stadium in Spain especially now after his fantastic wins. Topuria’s popularity in Spain is very reminiscent of the peak of McGregor’s popularity in Ireland. However, over the years McGregor has become less popular with his people due to multiple controversies.
So, Sonnen concludes that Topuria is on a trajectory to become more popular than McGregor and it’s hard to disagree. He’s already surpassed McGregor’s legacy at featherweight with actually defending the title and beating Volkanovski and Holloway back-to-back. Popularity wise he is not that far off the more emphatic fights and wins he has his popularity will only grow. Topuria already has over 5 million Instagram followers. We will see how Topuria’s stardom will grow over these next few years as well as the rest of his career.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
