UFC Madrid? Ilia Topuria Dreams Big with a Blockbuster Fight at Bernabeu Stadium
10/30/2024 09:06 AM
Ilia Topuria recently made headlines with a stunning victory at UFC 308, where he defended his featherweight title against Max Holloway. Following this victory, Topuria expressed his dream of hosting a UFC event at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He has even reached out to UFC President Dana White to discuss making this dream a reality.
UFC Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain
Ilia Topuria’s connection to the Bernabéu is personal; he is a lifelong fan of Real Madrid and had the opportunity to experience the stadium atmosphere earlier this year when he attended a match after winning the title from Alexander Volkanovski. The recent renovations to the stadium, including a new roof, have made it even more suitable for large events. An AI-generated visualization by Casasdeapuestas.bet has depicted what such a UFC event might look like if it were held there in 2025.
Ilia Topuria
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, with a capacity of nearly 78,300. This would be a significant milestone for Ilia Topuria, who wants to bring glory back to the stadium through his fights. His recent knockout of Holloway has sparked excitement about the possibility of a UFC event in Spain, something that Dana White seems eager to pursue. He acknowledged that Ilia Topuria’s performance has increased interest in bringing the UFC to Spain and indicated that they are working on logistics for such an event.
Dana White explained:
"I want to go to Spain as bad as Spain wants us to come, so we're working on it. We'll get it done there. There's never been a time where we said we're going to do something and we don't do it. We figure it out, and we'll get it done. It's important for me to go to Spain in '25, so we'll figure it out. This business is star driven, so when we have a South African (champion like Dricus Du Plessis), we want to get to Africa.
“When we have somebody from Spain, we want to get into Spain. Georgia, yes – the answer is yes. We haven't looked into that yet or what it would take to pull off an event near there.
“We're still trying to figure out Spain with the arena situation. But when you look at the performance that Topuria had tonight, we need to get to Spain and figure it out. If we have to (go to a stadium), we will. I'd prefer not to. All the arenas were booked up. We're trying to figure it out. But if I have to go to a stadium (for Topuria in Spain), we will” [Ht MMA Junkie]
