Ilia Topuria successfully weighs in for Alexander Volkanovski UFC world title fight after drinking ‘half of litre of wine’

UFC world title challenger Ilia Topuria has successfully made weight following his revelation he drinks half a litre of wine on the eve of weigh-ins.

The Georgian returns to the octagon on Saturday night for UFC 298 and will face Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title.

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Topuria faces Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title on Saturday nightCredit: Getty
Topuria will arrive unbeaten off the back of 14 professional wins, with his latest coming against Josh Emmett in June.

Having started fighting in 2015, the 27-year-old will certainly be used to the weigh-ins that are standard the day before a fight.

He and Volkanovski both weighed in at 144.5lbs, and the title challenger has opened up on his unorthodox methods before hitting the scales.

Speaking to former UFC star Michael Bisping ahead of his weigh-in, he said: “So the thing is that when I drink half a litre of wine, and you know that on Thursday it’s a very hard night for every fighter because it’s a day before the weigh-ins.

“So it’s hard to sleep, it’s hard to rest, but I drink half a litre of wine… I get very buzzed, very buzzed and I have very- such a great time with everyone.

“It’s like we change the atmosphere, you know? We don’t think about the fighting, we just celebrate, and I go to sleep like a baby.

“I wake up at the next morning with two pounds less, because of the dehydration, so everything plays out really well for me.”

Topuria then explained the reasoning behind it, adding: “We do it with a purpose. I always had phenomenal fights and it didn’t affect me, never ever in my life. Don’t do it without any recommendations.

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Bisping was shocked to hear Topuria drinks wine the night beforeCredit: Michael Bisping YouTube

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But he weighed in fine for the main eventCredit: Getty
“I did it because the first time when I started, my nutritionist, he told me, ‘You have to drink half a litre of wine because it’s going to help you to dehydrate.’ I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ He was, ‘Yes yes, drink it.’

“And he was right, I drink the wine, I wake up at the next morning and I had 2lbs less. I was like, ‘Wow.’

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“I had such a great time, I drank wine the day when you can’t have anything, you can’t eat, you can’t drink. I sleep like a baby and I get benefits.”

Topuria has the backing of tennis legend Rafael Nadal and former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta ahead of his next fight.

He won’t find it easy against Volkanovski though as the Australian will defend his UFC featherweight title for the sixth time.