Ilia Topuria explains why he drinks 'half a liter' of red wine the day before he weighs in
11/24/2024 09:22 AM
Ilia Topuria’s rise in the UFC has been one of the most impressive in recent years with the 27-year-old currently one of the biggest stars in the promotion.
Earlier this year at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria shocked the world when he handed Alexander Volkanovski his second KO loss in a row, becoming the new featherweight champion.
‘El Matador’ then became the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway when he did exactly what he said he would do and switched ‘Blessed’s’ lights off in the third round of their UFC 308 main event.
Ilia Topuria explains why he drinks half a liter of wine before weigh-ins
With Topuria’s rise in the UFC being one of the quickest and most impressive in recent memory, the 27-year-old champion is relatively unorthodox in his approach to his fights.
Before his title fight against Alexander ‘The Great’, Topuria revealed that a day before his weigh-ins for his UFC fights, he drinks half a liter of wine and he and his team have a party.
“So, the thing is, that when I drink half a liter of wine, and you know that on Thursday it’s a very hard night for every fighter because it’s a day before weigh-ins so it’s hard to sleep, it’s hard to rest, but I drink half a liter of wine.
“I get very buzzed and I have such a great time with everybody, we change the atmosphere, you know, we don’t think about the fighting. I go to sleep like a baby and I wake up in the morning 2lbs less because of dehydration.
“Everyone’s drunk, everyone’s happy, we have a party, so yeah, and we are fighting for our dreams. Sometimes it’s even better to be mentally good than physically good,” the Spaniard told Michael Bisping.
What’s next for Ilia Topuria?
Following his blockbuster win over Holloway last month, Topuria is seemingly set to defend his title in a rematch against Volkanovski.
Diego Lopes weighed in as a backup for the UFC 308 main event, however, the Brazilian contender is now trying to secure a fight against ‘The Great’ to truly cement himself as the next challenger.
Despite that, Volkanovski is adamant that he won’t be fighting Lopes next and will instead wait for Topuria to be ready to defend his title in 2025.
