There have been more than three dozen sets of siblings to compete under the UFC banner throughout the history of the promotion, but none of them have managed to both capture UFC gold.
Ilia Topuria thinks he and his brother, new UFC signee Aleksandre Topuria, will change that.
Ilia (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is currently the reigning UFC featherweight champion, who will look to defend his title for the first time in the UFC 308 main event on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi when he takes on Max Holloway. Roughly around the time his bout became official, news surfaced that Ilia’s older brother, Aleksandre (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has inked a deal with the company.
“I’m telling you: He’s the next UFC world champion,” Ilia told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “Maybe he’s even better than me. He’s a very, very good fighter. Very technical. People will enjoy his fights.
“Of course, he can do the same path as mine. He has the level. He will decide.”
Ilia said a date, location and opponent for Aleksandre, who competes at bantamweight, to make his octagon debut is still being discussed. It might not happen until after his bout with Holloway occurs.
“I don’t think they’re going to put him in Abu Dhabi,” Ilia said. “We asked for him to fight in Paris. They told us that that Paris card was full. Then we tried to put him in the same card but they told us that they don’t have a good experience putting two brothers on the same card. So I thunk they’re going to put him after my fight.”
