Since winning the UFC featherweight title back in February, Ilia Topuria has undoubtedly became one of the UFC’s biggest active stars, and by 2025 he wants to have capitalised on that.
The 27-year-old shot into superstardom three months ago, when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, becoming the new 145lb champion.
Since then, Ilia Topuria has transcended just MMA and was even presented in front of the Real Madrid fans – one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world – at the Santiago Bernabeu.
‘El Matador’ has made it known that he wants to defend his featherweight title in Spain, ideally at the 85,000 capacity Bernabeu, with the UFC seemingly exploring the idea of taking the promotion to a new market in the Mediterranean.
Ilia Topuria still undecided on who he wants to fight next
Although it seemed pretty nailed on that Topuria would make his first title defense against Max Holloway – following Max Holloway’s emphatic UFC 300 win over Justin Gaethje – he has seemingly changed his mind on that.
The reason for the 27-year-old’s change of plan is regarding the ‘BMF’ title. Topuria claimed that he will only fight ‘Blessed’ Holloway next, if Holloway’s ‘BMF’ title is up for grabs too.
Since then, ‘El Matador’ has highlighted Brian Ortega as the next worthy challenger as he has threatened to give the title shot to ‘T-City’ instead.
Despite increasing in popularity over the past few months, that decision may be taken out of his hands if the UFC decides. UFC commentator, Daniel Cormier, has questioned how much of a say Topuria really has in who he fights next, after the champion allegedly turned down the opportunity to defend his title at UFC 305, in a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski.
Ultimately, who he fights next shouldn’t be a concern if he wants to reach his audacious goal he has set for himself by 2025.
- COMPARISON: Daniel Cormier makes bold comparison of Justin Gaethje’s situation to fellow lightweight rivals
Ilia Topuria wants to be the highest paid sports star by 2025
In a recent interview with WebPositer, Topuria made an extremely audacious claim that by 2025, he would be the highest paid sports athlete in the world.
“Look, I can tell you I have no doubt that in 2025 I will be the highest paid athlete in the world. Best paid athlete in the world.
“I’ll be there, I have no doubt. I mean, I’d be surprised if I didn’t do it. If I did, I have no doubt, really.” Topuria claimed.
That, though, may be an near unattainable feat, especially as for his win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, he only received $350,000 – granted he will have renegotiated a new contract since becoming champion, and will now earn PPV points.
In 2023 according to Forbes, the highest paid sports athlete in the world was soccer phenomenon, Cristiano Ronaldo, who earned $136m. In 2016, Conor McGregor made history by becoming the first MMA fighter to make Forbes list of the top 100 highest paid sports athletes.
In 2021, he finished top. If Ilia Topuria is to reach his goal by 2025, he may want to take a leaf out of ‘The Notorious’ book.