“Changed his entire life with a punch” - "Superstar" Ilia Topuria breaks the internet with historic UFC title presentation at packed Santiago Bernabéu

Ilia Topuria is already a national hero in Spain and is well on his way to becoming the UFC's next international superstar.

Eight days after becoming the UFC featherweight champion by ending the reign of Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria received a hero's welcome in his home country by being introduced at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium during the February 25th match between Real Madrid and Sevilla. During the ceremonial process, Topuria received a standing ovation and walked onto the field with the belt to be greeted by players from both teams.

As the second-largest stadium in Spain, the Santiago Bernabeu had a sold-out crowd of over 81 thousand football fans commemorating Topuria on his knockout victory.

Recognizing the level of impact 'El Matador' has already made, fans showed respect for the 15-0 champion on social media.

One fan wrote:

"[Topuria] changed his life with a punch "

Another fan claimed Topuria had become 'the superstar Sean O'Malley always wanted to be.'

"He told Daniel Cormier that he would sell out the Bernabeu in 5 seconds... he has done it all"

"80,000 people in the stadium [and] hundreds of millions watching worldwide"

"A superstar is born"

"Some Americans don't realize how huge this is lol this is the biggest club in the biggest sport in the world and he's being paraded like this"

"That's something else!"

View more fan reactions to Ilia Topuria being welcomed at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Feb. 25 below:

Fan reactions to Ilia Topuria's championship welcome in Spaoin [via @dovysimumma on X]

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Ilia Topuria reunites with Sergio Ramos at the Santiago Bernabeu

A lot of headlines were made when Spanish football star Sergio Ramos traveled to Jacksonville for Ilia Topuria's main event against Josh Emmett. The now-UFC champion reunited with his countryman at Santiago Bernabeu.

Being introduced in Spain as the new UFC featherweight champion in the iconic stadium on behalf of Real Madrid, Topuria greeted his old friend on the field prior to the start of the match. Ramos, who now plays center back for Sevilla, the visiting team on the night, was greeted by a hug from Topuria.

As one of the most famous athletes worldwide, Ramos has over 20 million followers on X and over 62 million followers on Instagram. Topuria, too, has an impressive following of 3.3 million, which is sure to rise this year.