Ilia Topuria is a fighter in the UFC featherweight division. The fighter has an ongoing rivalry with UFC lightweight fighter Paddy Pimblett. Before Paddy’s second UFC bout in March 2022, Topuria and Pimblett had a big scuffle. They had a bust-up in the lead-up to that particular event and Paddy apparently threw a hand sanitizer bottle toward Ilia.
The 25-year-old beat Jai Herbert in the event and called out the Liverpool native for a fight. Although UFC went a different way with Pimblett and booked him against Jordan Leavitt four months later at the July UFC London card, their rivalry never went away. It was evident when they were on the stage for UFC 282, neither Topuria nor Pimblett were ready to let go of their past altercations.
I’m talking in English and fuck you in English.#UFC282 pic.twitter.com/G3mInCWBxY
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 9, 2022
The two almost came to blows during the UFC 282 press conference, before the security pulled them apart. During their trash talk, Paddy hinted at Ilia’s ethnicity and made some derogatory comments about him.
“You pretend to be Georgian, but you’re not. You were born in Germany and you live in Spain. You were born in Germany and you live in Spain. You’re a little mongrel. That’s what you are. You’re a little mongrel.” (h/t via Bloody Elbow)
In light of Paddy The Baddy‘s recent comments about Ilia Topuria, let’s take a deep dive into his ethnicity and where he is from.
What is Ilia Topuria’s nationality?
Ilia Topuria was born on 21st January 1997. Alongside Giga Chikadze and Merab Dvalishvili, Ilia is one of the top names who are representing the country Georgia in the UFC. The fighter made his UFC debut in 2020 and beat Youssef Zalal, Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, and Jai Herbert. In November 2020, Topuria spoke on his heritage and upbringing.
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Topuria was not born in the country of Georgia. Ilia has lived in three separate countries. Although his parents are Georgian, Topuria was born in Germany. However, his parents moved back to Georgia shortly after his birth and there Ilia caught the bug for wrestling. But, their stay in the country was not a long one, as they moved to Spain later. Currently, Ilia lives in the Alicante region of Spain.
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“El Matador” spoke about his life journey and which country he feels more related to. Although he acknowledges Georgia as the country he is from, Ilia Topuria also has a lot of good things to say about Spain as well. Spain is where his MMA journey started and he has immense love for the country. Topuria is also a huge soccer fan and supports the Spanish side Valencia.
“I was raised in Georgia, but I feel like a Spaniard… I started mixed martial arts in Spain and I can’t say, ‘Okay, I’m Georgian’ because I live in Spain, I train in Spain, and Spain brought me to where I am today.” (h/t via UFC)
Which religion does Ilia Topuria believe in?
According to a report from NewsUnzip, Ilia Topuria recognizes Christianity as his religion. The report also provided some info on his parents and revealed his father’s name is Zaza Topuria and his mother is called InGa Bendeliani Topuria.
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As far as his siblings are concerned, he has two sisters named Mari Tlashadze and Ana Tlashadze. Topuria also has a brother named Alexsandre Topuria. Similar to his brother, Alexsandre also is an MMA fighter and he has a record of 4-1. Alexsandre is the older sibling and he defeated Alberto Ibanez during his last out on March 12th, 2022.
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