They reveal what Ilia Topuria’s life was like before fame: “There was no food, there was no water”

But, among the many topics that he brought up There were some statements about his hard childhood in GeorgiIt was his experience in the midst of war that resonated deeply with the audience, generating a wave of curiosity about his life before fame.

Ilia Topuria’s past

The mixed martial arts champion was born in Halle, Germany, in 1997. The son of Georgian parents who They emigrated to Europe in search of better opportunities. However, when Ilia was just six years old, the family returned to Georgia, where her life would take a turn for the worse. In 2008, the war broke out between Georgia and Russia, a conflict that left deep scars on little Ilia, who was only an eight-year-old boy at the time.

During his recent appearance in El Hormiguero hhas shared some harsh descriptions of those days: “There was no food, there was no water. You had to sleep in the basement without turning on the light so they wouldn’t bomb you. Tanks passed by. Fear was on every corner.”

These experiences forged his character, forcing him to mature a lot earlier than it was due. For Topuria, the war was not only a lesson in survival, but a mental preparation that would later help him in his martial arts career. “I don’t have a hard time dealing with fear in the octagon,” he confessed, comparing UFC fights to the constant threat of death he experienced as a child.

At age 15, Ilia and her family moved to Alicante, Spain. This change not only did it mean a way out of Georgia’s political instability but also the beginning of a new life that, without knowing it, would lead him to the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). However, at first, things were not easy. Upon moving, Ilia and her brother Aleksandre, who had practiced Greco-Roman wrestling in Georgia, found that they had nowhere to train.

Luckily, walking down the street, they found a guy who had the characteristic “cauliflower ears”” (a very common ailment among those who practice contact sports). This aroused their curiosity and led them to discover the Climent Club, an MMA gym run by brothers Agustín and Jorge Climent that allowed them to focus on their full training.

Road to glory

Later, Ilia Topuria exploded as a professional in MMA at just 18 years old and began to advance astronomically in his career. It was in 2019, after just six fights, when he was knocking on the doors of the UFC. Finally, in 2020 came his debut in Abu Dhabi, where he beat Youseff Zalal on points, marking the beginning of his unstoppable rise in the most prestigious league in the world.

Since then, Ilia has achieved notable victories against fighters like Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall and Bryce Mitchell, consolidating itself as one of the greatest promises in the sport. In 2024, he reached his big moment by becoming UFC featherweight champion after defeating Alexander Volkanovski, one of the legends of the sport.