Watch: UFC champ Ilia Topuria cut open in ruthless sparring clash with unknown competitor

Ilia Topuria has an undefeated professional MMA record and is poised to become a big superstar with the promotion. Topuria recently became champion with a scintillating second-round knockout of long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298.

Recently, a video went viral on social media that showed Topuria engaging in an MMA sparring session with a fellow fighter. Fans have turned to the video to express their criticism of Topuria for his actions in the sparring. See what transpired in the video below.

Ilia Topuria rocked by unknown fighter

The Georgian suffered a cut beneath his eyes and lost a lot of blood in the recent viral video that featured Ilia Topuria sparring. The fighter in the video was a Dagestani fighter named Abdulaziz Datsilaev, who sports a 3-1 record in MMA and trains out of Miami, Florida.

The video was uploaded by a popular meme MMA X handle, DoctorMMA, with the caption, “📸 Ilia Topuria getting rocked and chewed up violently by a hungry Dagestani Fighter named Abdulaziz Datsilaev causing him to bleed. The caption further said, “It was said Topuria had to be consoled because he wanted to kick the Dagestani fighter out 🤣”.

Nonetheless, the time, date, and location of the video are not presently available, but former UFC fighter Kevin Lee has come forward to defend Touria. “This post is bullshit. Not sure where you got this film or information but thats not how it went at all”, commented Lee on the post.

As Lee was a witness to the incident, the chances are that the sparring session happened in the USA, possibly in Las Vegas, where Lee trains. Lee recently announced his comeback after announcing his retirement in July 2023.

What is next for Ilia Topuria following UFC title win?

Ilia Topuria followed the Conor McGregor route to the featherweight title, as all the evidence suggests. Like McGregor, Topuria took exactly seven fights to become the champion and even did what McGregor did to Aldo in the pre-fight press conference by playfully taking the championship belt from Alexander Volkanovski.

Interestingly, Topuria called out McGregor after victory and has even stated the location of the fight to be in Spain, possibly Santiago Bernabeu. McGregor replied in his signature style on social media, but a potential fight between Topuria and McGregor seems way off, as in the words of UFC CEO Dana White.

Alexander Volkanovski has called for an immediate rematch in Spain, but Topuria is not particularly interested in it but looks okay with it if there is no better option. Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega will be fighting in the upcoming UFC Mexico co-main event and the winner could be next for Topuria.

Another option for Topuria is Max Holloway, who is scheduled to fight Justin Gaethje for the BMF title fight at UFC 300. Undefeated Movsar Evloev is also an option but Topuria brushed off a fight with Evloev, citing the lack of exciting fights the Ingush fighter has had.

Who do you think is next for Ilia Topuria? Leave your prediction below!