UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has seen his star power rise since winning that title at UFC 298 in February 2024 with a second-round knockout win over longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski. The 27-year-old champ feels as if his future will only get brighter.
Topuria, who made a disclosed $350,000 for his win over Volkanovski at UFC 298 sees himself in the top spot of the world’s highest-paid athletes by the end of 2025.
“Look, I can tell you I have no doubt that in 2025, I will be the highest-paid athlete in the world,” Topuria said in Spanish (via MMA Junkie) on the Webpositer Podcast.
The UFC champ’s goal is a lofty one, and one that he will be hard pressed to meet. The only UFC fighter to appear on the list of the 10 highest paid athletes has been former champion Conor McGregor, who made most of his income during those years outside of MMA. McGregor made the list in 2018 following his boxing matchup against Floyd Mayweather and in 2021 with the sale of his Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand.
Cristiano Ronaldo headlines the Forbes list of the highest-paid athletes of 2023. The 38-year-old soccer star pulled in $136 million, according to the website. Second on the Forbes list is another soccer player, Lionel Messi at $130 million. The only combat sports athletes on the 2023 list are boxers Canelo Alvarez at No. 5 with $110 million and Anthony Joshua at No. 28 at $53 million.
Topuria, who was born in Germany, might not be a household name in the United States, but his profile is high in Spain, where the fighter moved with his parents after leaving Georgia when he was 15.
Following his win over Volkanovski, Topuria took the honorary kickoff at Real Madrid’s game vs. Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu, a stadium that seats more than 80,000 people.
The UFC champ also met with Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez following his title-winning tilt, with Sanchez telling Topuria, “Your effort, dedication and perseverance have led you to fulfill one of your dreams.
The second will also become a reality very soon. Your love for Spain will be reflected in your Spanish ID.”
Topuria’s coach, Jorge Climent, told MMA Junkie that he is stunned by how popular the fight has become in Spain since he won UFC gold in February.
“Having confidence in what we are capable of, doesn’t mean I had the vision of what we’re seeing today,” Climent said. “I never thought we were going to have the reach that we have now or be recognized in the manner in which we’re being recognized.
“In Spain, this was always a niche sport and the majority of the fan base was created by us, so it’s just incredible. Winning over the Real Madrid fan base, being with the top politicians, being on television, heck, I even get recognized by older women. I say to myself, ‘This is crazy. This is all so crazy.’ But we’re staying as humble as possible and as grateful as possible.”
Climent added that he believes a UFC event headlined by Topuria at Santiago Bernabeu would be a sellout.
“I’m sure he sells out El Bernabéu and not just of Spanish fans,” Climent said. “Spain is the destination where all Europeans go on vacation. It’s very easy to come here and realize what paradise Spain is, so yeah, I’m sure he sells it out.
As for UFC CEO Dana White, he responded enthusiastically to the idea of a fight card in the stadium in Spain, saying at the UFC 298 post-fight press conference, “I like it! Sounds good, yeah.”
