anecdotes about Topuria’s fight in Abu Dhabi

During their fight at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Ilya’s name was loudly chanted. thanks to the support received by about 300 Spanish fans that they met there. Among them there are also interesting stories, because October 26 is not an ordinary holiday date and, moreover, coincided with the Spanish Football Classic.

Journalist Laura Fernandez from the Spanish TV channel Eurosport was able to talk to Samuel, a young man from the Canary Islands who just got married and who He interrupted his honeymoon to go into battle History of Topuria. Of course, with my wife’s permission. In addition, father and son traveled from Madrid to enjoy El Matador’s first title defense together. “I like my father a little, although he was left without a game with Real,” the kid noted with grace.

Spanish fans came from all over the country. For example, Jean Paul, a 37-year-old Cantabrian who works as a psychologist, could not miss what he calls “the most important event in the history of Spanish martial arts and one of the most important in our sporting history.” “The Ilya Topuria fight represents a huge breakthrough in the American sports market, because in other sports where we have already shined, such as tennis (Nadal) or especially football, there is not much attention,” he says.

The trip for Jean Paul, who arrived accompanied by other fans organized through a group on Telegram, turned out to be very eventful. “They did a lot of crap to us, like leaving us stranded in Rome, delaying our flight for 16 hours, losing a night in a hotel, having to wander around the Italian capital wet and arriving at a press conference wide awake as we were traveling at dawn “- says. But it was all worth it after the historic victory.

“In our country the growth is exponential, sometimes it’s mind-boggling that what was a niche sport starts to become a mainstream sport like football, but in the end it’s better for us and for the journalists. Hello ABC, my father’s favorite newspaper,” concludes Jean Paul.

Also traveling with him was Ruben, a 36-year-old fan from Gandia, who came to “live something historic” and enjoyed it like never before. “Ilya is making history, both in the UFC and in our country, and to be able to say that I was there is a source of pride,” says the young man, who stayed in Dubai with Jean-Paul.

But why put so much effort into accompanying Topuria on this journey? “MMA has been an important part of my life for many years.I don’t play sports, but I consume a lot of content every day, and I watch hundreds of fights a year, it’s a bit of a “disease”, but it’s what I like, and sports in Spain are developing a lot, this is a historical moment, no one is going to stop it , and we are also lucky that we can experience it together with a great champion who conveys good values, such as Ilya Topuria,” says Ruben.