Video: New UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria receives warm welcome in return to Spain

February 22, 2024 9:20 pm ET

Spain’s newest superstar Ilia Topuria received a warm welcome from fans when he returned to home soil.

The new UFC featherweight champion landed at the Madrid airport Wednesday evening and was met with a group of roaring fans showing their support.

The Georgian-Spanish fighter teased his return home on his Instagram Stories with a photo of his flight information and a caption in Spanish that read, “El cinturon para Espana,” which translates in English to “the belt for Spain.”

In a video posted to Instagram, Topuria arrived with the UFC belt draped over his shoulder as he met the crowd of fans cheering and snapping photos of the champ. “El Matador” took time to sign autographs as well as he appeared grateful for the reception.

Check out video of Topuria’s arrival in the video below (via Instagram):

Another angle shared on X:

🎥 Ilia Topuria arrived in Spain and fans warmly welcomed him 🇬🇪🇪🇸❤️

Can’t wait when Ilia comes back in Georgia with the belt, I believe the whole country will be at the airport! 🙏❤ pic.twitter.com/rTdV5sgwpe

— Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) February 22, 2024

Topuria claimed the UFC featherweight title by shockingly knocking out the division’s long-reigning titleholder Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298.

Now, it’s time for his victory tour, which kicked off as soon as he landed in Madrid. There are some big plans ahead too.

During a press conference, Topuria said he will take the honorary kickoff at the upcoming Real Madrid soccer match against Sevilla at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday. To put it simply (because it’s tough to draw an accurate comparison), that will be a massive moment for Topuria, the UFC, and the sport of MMA as a whole to have a fighter celebrated by one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world.

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