Georgia has its first UFC world champion, and his name is Ilia Topuria.
On Saturday night, ‘El Matador’ entered the Octagon with an entire country behind him. Less than two rounds later, he shocked the world with a sensational second-round knockout of featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkavnoski to claim the 145-pound crown. It was a history-making moment for Topuria and his transcontinental home country.
To give the rest of the world an idea of how much Topuria’s victory means to the country, MMA reporter and fellow Georgian Giorgi Kokiashvili shared a video of thousands of fight fans celebrating in the streets after their native son did exactly what he said he was going to do.
This is how we love our first ever UFC Champion Ilia Topuria and our future UFC Champion Merab Dvalishvili in Georgia!
Thousands of people in different places at 7AM, in 3 degrees with rain, went to the streets to watch and cheer for our warriors
Setanta Sports is MMA!
pic.twitter.com/l0aurpNLDy
— Giorgi Kokiashvili
My legs went completely numb from happiness and shock when Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski
I can't express how happy I am for my man @Topuriailia ! He made whole
— Giorgi Kokiashvili
proud! 
This is Setanta Sports HQ in Tbilisi, Georgia
“Topuria is a great and had a tremendous performance. If he continues like this I think he will have a great future,” UFC CEO Dana White said at a post-fight press event.
Merab Dvalishvili gives Georgians another victory to celebrate
Ilia Topuria wasn’t the only Georgian fighter to deliver big at UFC 298. Earlier in the evening, bantamweight standout Merab Dvalishvili scored his 10th-straight win inside the Octagon, besting former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision.
With the victory, Dvalishvili was dubbed as the next man in line for a shot at the 135-pound title.
With his title shot confirmed by Dana White, #UFC298 winner Merab Dvalishvili says his 10-fight streak "is only the beginning."
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 18, 2024
