'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEG/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgT/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMZAUf/EAB8QAAICAgEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQABQYRISMxQv/aAAgBAQABPwCfVnhttt3VirC5rLUlOd4wfK6AEMi/AKHJdMdhK92ZK5lskzMeh9t3Of/EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEA/9oACAECAQE/AAL/xAAYEQACAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDIv/aAAgBAwEBPwBxVr2f/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
At UFC 298, Ilia Topuria made history. Not only did he end Alexander Volkanovski's legendary featherweight title reign, handing 'The Great' his first-ever loss at 145 pounds, but he also became both Spain and Georgia's first champion in the promotion. In spectacular fashion, no less.
It marks the latest instance of a European fighter enthroning themselves at the top of the sport. Historically, MMA has been dominated by American and Brazilian fighters. But in recent years, the sport's expansion has led to an influx of high-level talent from all across the globe, most notably in Europe.
Topuria, however, is not the first European to bring championship gold back to his country. But he is part of a rare class of fighter: those who are their country's first and, thus far, only champions in the promotion.
Trending
#5. Andrei Arlovski: The first and only Belarusian UFC champion
Andrei Arlovski is a longtime veteran of the sport, having competed against multiple generations of the world's best fighters. While he doesn't occupy the same top spot that he once did, the 45-year-old is still competing in the UFC. Unfortunately, younger fans may not know just how good he was in his prime.
Arlovski is a native of Belarus, an Eastern European country, and nearly a decade ago, he submitted former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 51 to capture the interim title. It would be the first in a quadrilogy of clashes between the pair. Afterward, Arlovski defended his interim title instead of unifying it.
This stemmed from then-undisputed champion Frank Mir's slow rehabilitation from a catastrophic motorcycle accident. With Mir's lagging recovery, Arlovski was promoted to the undisputed champion, even defending the title before losing it to Sylvia in a rematch. Unfortunately, Belarus has not had a titleholder since.
#4. Bas Rutten: The first and only Dutch UFC champion
Long before Alistair Overeem, the Netherlands' most recognizable fighter was MMA pioneer Bas Rutten, who is widely known for being a three-time King of Pancrase champion and a big proponent of the liver shot. Despite spending most of his MMA career in Pancrase, he had a brief stint in the UFC.
After TKO'ing Tsuyoshi Kohsaka on his promotional debut, the Dutchman took on the late great Kevin Randleman for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 20. The bout was closely contested, with Randleman outwrestling the Dutchman, who in return landed hard kicks on the feet and elbows off his back.
After 21 minutes, Rutten was declared the new heavyweight champion, winning via split decision. However, the result was controversial, with many feeling that Randleman had done enough to win. Unfortunately, Rutten never defended his belt, retiring from active competition due to a series of crippling injuries.
#3. Jiří Procházka: The first and only Czech UFC champion
Most fans identify Jiří Procházka with Japanese culture due to his love of Bushido values and the philosophies espoused by legendary Japanese rōnin, Miaymoto Musashi. However, the 205-pound knockout artist is actually Czech, born in Brno, Czech Republic.
Thus far, he is the only fighter representing the Central European country at the highest level of MMA, having captured the light heavyweight title in a war for the ages at UFC 275, where he snatched Glover Teixeira's neck with a last-minute submission.
Unfortunately, Procházka was forced to vacate his title after sustaining a horrifying shoulder injury that kept him out of competition for over a year. Despite the new influx of talent from the Czech Republic, no one else has managed even to crack the top five of their division, let alone fight for a title.
#2. Conor McGregor: The first and only Irish UFC champion
Ireland was a country of no renown in MMA for most of the sport's history. However, one man alone is responsible for popularizing MMA not just in Ireland but the world: Conor McGregor. 'The Notorious' arrived like a phenomenon never before seen.
It was an Irish invasion of the world's best MMA promotion, and it was led and fought by McGregor alone. He authored an unforgettable win streak, with nearly every bout being a knockout/TKO, before he finally took on the most daunting challenge of all: fighting all-time great featherweight champion José Aldo.
Aldo was at the helm of an 18-fight win streak and had only ever lost once prior. Yet, it took McGregor 13 seconds to dethrone him with the fastest knockout in UFC championship history. He became Ireland's first champion in the promotion and, nearly ten years later, remains its only titleholder.
#1. Ilia Topuria: The first and only Spanish and Georgian UFC champion
Ilia Topuria is one-of-a-kind in that he is the first fighter to win a world title and represent two countries while doing so. In fact, he is technically tied to three countries, having been born in Germany to Georgian parents before moving to Spain as a teenager, where he became a citizen.
Neither Spain nor Georgia have ever had champions in the promotion, but all of that changed at UFC 289. This past weekend, Topuria faced one of the most skilled fighters of all time and a pound-for-pound great in Alexander Volkanovski for the latter's featherweight strap.
Ahead of the bout, no one but Topuria believed in his chances of winning, least of all by his predicted knockout. But within two rounds, his prediction came true, as he knocked Volkanovski out cold against the fence to become the featherweight champion.
