"Madness" - Ariel Helwani and MMA world left stunned as Ilia Topuria gets mobbed by thousands of fans at Tbilisi International Airport

Ariel Helwani and the collective combat sports community took notice of a recent championship celebration for Ilia Topuria.

On the heels of his UFC 298 second-round title-winning stoppage of Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria recently returned to his compatriots to quite the partisan welcome.

The Georgian-Spanish mixed martial artist was given a hero's welcome when returning to Georgia at the airport, flanked by many enthusiastic fans. The acclaimed MMA journalist had his say on the championship celebration for the new UFC featherweight king.

Helwani quote tweeted a clip shared by @iHeartGeorgius1 and succinctly remarked:

"Madness"

Several X users then responded to Ariel Helwani's quote tweet, and a thread of responses followed thereafter.

@TheCannoner said:

"For those who don't understand. In a country of 3.7 million. Having a champ is a huge luxury. And we have them many!!! Besides wrestling & Judo world champs. Today we have - Lahsa Talakhadze, Levan Saginashvili and Ilia Topuria!!!"

@slipperybozi said:

"I thought he was Spanish?"

@Espi87 stated:

"Bro been the man for like a week and look at these ppl. Yall got nothing better to do!? Someone could tell me Conor was walking down my street, and I still wouldn't move a inch to go cheer him on."

[Images Courtesy: @arielhelwani thread on X]

Check out the Ariel Helwani's reaction below:

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Ariel Helwani on Ilia Topuria's title win

Ariel Helwani has spoken very highly of the fifth UFC featherweight champion in history. He believes that 'El Matador' could become one of the most prolific fighters today in all of mixed martial arts.

The 41-year-old said of Ilia Topuria that he is on a rocket ship. Helwani articulated that in a couple of title defenses, Topuria could be in that conversation for one of the faces of MMA. It seems like the star power of Topuria has been surging lately.

Topuria has not only been celebrated at the Bernabeu amid a recent football game, but he was also called out by Sean O'Malley. 'Suga' Sean is among one of UFC's biggest stars and just defended his bantamweight belt in the UFC 299 main event, which also articulates Topuria's surging star power.

The Montreal native notices the dual-pronged support from Georgia and Spain for Topuria, with many theorizing he could lead the UFC to their first foray promoting a show in Spain. After winning the UFC belt within seven fights and finishing a generational great like Alexander Volkanovski, it seems the sky is the limit for Ilia Topuria.