Ilia Topuria says UFC Spain event is ‘much more advanced than people might imagine’

Ilia Topuria is sharing an update on his fighting future, and while things remain cloudy for the two division champion, “El Matador” remains confident that big things are coming.

Topuria recently spoke with Diario AS after being appointed an ambassador against drugs and bullying by the Spanish government, and he admitted he still doesn’t know for sure when he’ll fight next or against who.

“There’s really nothing official so far,” Topuria said. “I have not had any official conversations with them either.

These are all rumors so far. As soon as we get a call and go into details I’ll be able to tell you more, but so far it’s all just rumors.”

The reports we’re hearing have Topuria returning for the first premium event on Paramount+ in January against Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett.

“Which one do I prefer? If it’s my choice, I think I’d rather fight against Paddy,” Topuria said. “Because there’s a history that unites us and I think it’s going to be a much more entertaining fight for the public and at the end of the day I compete to entertain everyone and for them to have a truly unique experience. And I think with Paddy we could achieve that.”

“Regardless of what I want, the final decision, the final say comes from the UFC.”

He’s still interested in chasing down former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev should the Dagestani fighter beat Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November.

“I think my goal would be to move up to the next weight class and fight for a third belt if I were given the opportunity,” he said. “But with the UFC, in the end, you never know, because you may have your interests but at the end of the day the company has its own. So let’s see how the stars align and what the future has in store for us. Without a doubt, what interests me most is making fights bigger and bigger so I can entertain the entire audience.”

The other immediate goal for Topuria is a massive fight in Spain, hopefully at Real Madrid’s home of Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The venue can hold a whopping 85,000 people and would be the biggest UFC event in European history, but the UFC has been slow to put things together. But Topuria remains optimistic that it will happen.

“The topic is much more advanced than people might imagine,” he said of UFC Spain. “Some much firmer steps are already being taken than those taken last year because there were things that hindered that communication due to the commercial agreement they had for television rights.”

“So things are looking better and better, at some point it will happen. I would love to be able to tell you the exact year and date and who it would be against. Unfortunately I don’t have it, but hey, you can always push for it.”

Topuria is referring to the specifics of UFC’s deal with ESPN, which pushed the promotion to hold all its numbered events in primetime in the United States. That led to insanely late start times for Europe, like when Tom Aspinall fought at 4 a.m. in Manchester for UFC 304. Topuria has said that kind of situation was a non-starter, and UFC CEO Dana White has hinted it wouldn’t be required under the Paramount+ deal starting in 2026.