"That’s real success right there", "Legendary stuff" - Fans react as UFC star Ilia Topuria gets street named after him in Spain

Fans react (insert) to Ilia Topuria (left) getting a street named after him (right). [Image credit: @ChampsRDS on X, @iliatopuria on Instagram] — Fans react (insert) to Ilia Topuria (left) getting a street named after him (right). [Images courtesy: @ChampsRDS on X, @iliatopuria on Instagram]

Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is undoubtedly one of the most important people in both Spain and Georgia. His achievements in the sport in such a short time are quite unprecedented in both countries.

In Spain, just over a year after officially obtaining Spanish citizenship, 'El Matador' has had a street named after him in Toledo, named "Pase Ilia Topuria". Not a lot of celebrities have streets named after them, let alone combat athletes.

Check out a video of Ilia Topuria at the ceremonial reveal of the street sign (via @ChampRDS on X):

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Fans are loving this historic moment, with @Capsizing__ saying:

"That’s real success right there 🔥🔥🔥 He will go down in Spain history"

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Meanwhile, @Courtsidecom said:

"Legendary stuff"

Check out more comments below:

Fan comments. [Screenshots courtesy: @ChampsRDS on X]

Ilia Topuria vacates featherweight belt, UFC puts together new title bout

Back in February, it was announced that Ilia Topuria vacated the UFC featherweight title. In a time when champions almost always aim for the "Champ-champ" status, this move by 'El Matador' was quite surprising. After defending the belt once by knocking out the granite-chinned Max Holloway, Topuria set his sights on the 155-pound strap, owned by Islam Makhachev.

This is not the first time a champion looked up to conquer heavier weight classes. The difference with Topuria is that he had the humility and integrity to refuse to hold the featherweight division up. UFC president Dana White said that the Georgian-born Spanish fighter cited difficulties dropping to 145 pounds as the main reason. He also showed a lack of interest in the division as a whole.

Perhaps knocking out the most impossible man to knock out at 145 made the former champion realize that there are no more flags to conquer in the weight class. Now, the UFC put together a massive bout for the vacant strap.

At UFC 314 next month, former UFC featherweight champion - the man Topuria took the belt from - Alexander Volkanovski will face No. 3-ranked Diego Lopes for the vacant title.

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Jigyanshushri Mahanta