Ilia Archives - SandJack TV

‘We Just Lost Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria’ – Islam Makhachev, Other Fighters & Fans React To Jack Della Maddalena Capturing UFC Welterweight Championship At UFC 315

SandJack TV — Sun, 11 May 2025 05:42:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags At the end of 2024, the expectation was Shavkat Rakhmonov would be the first challenger for UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. But injury to Rakhmonov led to opportunity for Jack Della Maddalena, who was thrusted from planned Fight Night London main event to a title shot. And JDM […]

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: Arman Tsarukyan ‘more competitive’ matchup for Islam Makhachev than Ilia Topuria

SandJack TV — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 21:00:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev are holding firm on who deserves the next lightweight title shot. Earlier this year, featherweight champion Ilia Topuria vacated his title, declaring his intention to move up to 155 pounds and pursue the lightweight belt. Fans immediately started speculating about a superfight between […]

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‘Unbelievably Cold’ – Fans React As Another UFC Star Changes His Nickname After Ilia Topuria

SandJack TV — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 21:56:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags It seems like the UFC is going through a moniker-changing season. Last month, Ilia Topuria announced that he would be abandoning his longtime moniker, “El Matador,” in favor of “La Leyenda.” The shift comes as Topuria vacated his UFC featherweight title to pursue a new challenge in the […]

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UFC champ Islam Makhachev ‘not afraid’ of Ilia Topuria

SandJack TV — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 22:00:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Daniel Cormier is firing back at the notion that elite lightweight are afraid of Ilia Topuria. Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who is vacating the UFC featherweight title to move up to the lightweight division, recently said he’s targeting a title shot vs. Islam Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 […]

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Ilia Topuria Changes Nickname to ‘La Leyenda’ Ahead of Lightweight Debut

SandJack TV — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:10:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Ilia Topuria hinted that a change in moniker would accompany his move to a new weight class. Now that update has become a reality. “‘El Matador’ has been my ally in every fight,” Topuria recently wrote on X. “But next time, I’ll step into the Octagon with a […]

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Ilia Topuria vacates featherweight title – UFC 314 card

SandJack TV — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Ilia Topuria is the 145-pound king no more UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will vacate the title as he moves up to 155-pounds to challenge current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. The UFC will return to Kaseya Center with an electric bout that sees No. 1 ranked contender Alexander […]

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Analyzing Ilia Topuria’s Style Of Fighting

SandJack TV — Sun, 16 Feb 2025 02:00:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Ilia Topuria is a featherweight champion in the UFC. Being the country’s pride as the first ever Georgian to do so, he is considered one of the most complete mixed martial artists today, from standup to the ground. In this article, we will talk about Ilia’s fighting style […]

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Dustin Poirier On Ilia Topuria’s Lightweight Hopes: ‘I Think Islam Is Too Much, But…’

SandJack TV — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 23:48:00 +0000

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags Dustin Poirier is intrigued by a potential showdown between UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria and lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev. The 145-pound titleholder has expressed interest in moving up to challenge Makhachev, who is currently ranked as the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. Poirier is torn on who he […]

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UFC Spain ‘died’ because of security concerns — and Ilia Topuria’s allegiance to Real Madrid

SandJack TV — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 18:46:00 +0000

UFC CEO, Dana White, was “thrilled” by the prospect of hosting a pay-per-view (PPV) event in Spain, topped by the featherweight title fight pitting reigning division champion, Ilia Topuria, against … well, we never got that far. Point is, the promotion had big plans for 2025. Don’t buy that plane ticket just yet. “We thought […]

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Top MMA Coach Picks Joaquin Buckley As ‘Fighter Of The Year’ Over Alex Pereira & Ilia Topuria

SandJack TV — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 18:49:00 +0000

Coach Eric Nicksick has been thoroughly impressed by the efforts of UFC welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley in 2024. Buckley ended his year on a high note by headlining the final event of 2024 on Saturday night. He faced former interim champion Colby Covington at Tampa’s Amalie Arena, who was looking to get back into title […]

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