Ilia Topuria's brother gets brutally honest about his over six-year MMA layoff: "I want to come back stronger" 

A large chunk of UFC fans are currently awaiting the debut of Ilia Topuria's brother, Alexandre Topuria, at UFC 312. However, many of them may be unaware of the fact that the pro-MMA career of Topuria's brother contains a startling six-year layoff.

The second episode of UFC 312: Embedded on YouTube showcased Ilia training wrestling moves with Aleksandre to prepare him for his UFC debut. The UFC featherweight champ's brother currently holds a pro-MMA record of 5-1 after kicking off his career in April 2015.

Aleksandre earned a submission victory against Andres Braulio Lazaro Chiguano in his pro-MMA debut. However, things soon took a wrong turn as he endured his first defeat in the third pro-MMA fight of his career. Aleksandre couldn't find an answer to his rival, Ivo Ivanov's striking as he picked up a TKO defeat in the third round of the fight.

Aleksandre's first loss highlighted a major flaw in his game. Ilia's brother recently appeared in an interview with Shakiel Majhouri, where he detailed the lessons he had learned from his defeat:

"The thing is that when I lose [lost] my [first] fight, I knew why I lose. Sometimes you don’t learn so much in winning like you do when you lose."

Aleksandre deduced from his analysis that his lack of "boxing" skills cost him the fight. He detailed how he improved it with Ilia's help in the six-year-long hiatus he had taken from pro-MMA:

"[After training for five years] Maybe, I will stop like one [more] year and [train, because] I want to come back stronger. Stronger than ever."

Check out Alexandre Topuria's comments below (07:19 - 08:49):

---

A large chunk of the UFC community thinks Ilia Topuria will fight Islam Makhachev next

A few weeks back, UFC CEO, Dana White mentioned that he is negotiating a special fight for Islam Makhachev after the current lightweight champ defended his title for a record fourth time at UFC 311. Several posts on social media, including an X update from @mma_orbit relayed this piece of news along with asking the fans for their opinions about who Makhachev's undisclosed rival may be.

Despite fans suggesting other names in the comments section, Ilia Topuria won the clear majority with many of them voting in his favor. A few such comments read:

"We know it’s Ilia [Topuria]"

Others concurred:

"Ilia coming up in weight to fight would be the best."

"I hope he fights Ilia, i think Ilia KOs him really BAD"

"Has to be Ilia Topuria"

Check out some more reactions:

Fan reactions to @mma_orbit's X update. [Screenshots courtesy: @mma_orbit on X]