Ilia Topuria was only a few years old when he understood something that would shape his entire life.
“I watched my mother and father work; I saw the life we led, similar to that of millions of families, and I wanted to change it”, the Georgian-Spanish fighter wrote in an essay published in Marca. What follows is a story few people knew: for nearly six years, Topuria and his brother lived apart from their parents, who emigrated to Spain while the family reunification paperwork became mired in bureaucracy. Meanwhile, he grew up in Georgia, a country that experienced a war in 2008 that also affected him personally.
“That’s why, when I thought, ‘I’m going to become somebody,’ I was really making myself a promise”, he confessed. Today, after losing the UFC title and his undefeated record to Justin Gaethje, those words sound different. They do not speak of an invincible champion, but of a child who turned his parents’ absence into the fuel for an entire career. 🥋❤️