“I want fighters not to have to come to the UFC to get exposure”

The union between WOW (“The Way of the Warrior”)the biggest mixed martial arts league on the Spanish scene, and Ilia Topuria took place this Wednesday at Madridas a prelude to the event WOW 15 which will be held this Saturday, September 14 at Vistalegre Palace. The world champion of UFC He has just become a shareholder in the company and was present at the press conference preceding the show.

“My goal has always been to help in some way and contribute positively to mixed martial arts in Spain,” Ilia Topuria explained during an appearance in the presence of SPANISH. “Few people know what the fighter needs and what path he’s on, and WOW did a job that you can’t complain about. He did a masterful job,” he added.

WOW was born at the end of 2019 and in five years of existence it has grown by leaps and bounds, to the point of having found partners such as Movistar+which will be broadcast all evening this Saturday. You can also follow the UFC Fight Passplatform of the company that Topuria is championing: “I had no right to be anywhere else but WOW,” he noted.The Matador‘.

Topuria highlighted the business structure of WOW, whose CEO is David Balarezo, ‘Ball’. Conversations between the two parties began months ago until they resulted in an alliance: “Since my involvement, we have tried to add some details to help the evolution of the athletes, and for them to have a platform where they can compete and be authentic legends,” Ilia noted.

One of these details, as the youngest of the Topuria brothers was able to announce, is that in WOW 15 the so-called “bonuses” will be implemented for athletes: “There will be two “bonuses” for the fight of the night. and better Knock out“Depending on the athletes’ performance, there may be more,” Ilia said. He then stressed that these prizes, for the time being, will amount to an additional 3,000 euros.

The forecast for this event is also expected to exceed 7,000 people in Vistalegre and set a new attendance record in Spain. David Balarezo and his partner, Arthur Guillenwanted to emphasize that the future of WOW involves holding monthly and weekly events, even if this is part of a longer-term perspective.

“With WOW, what I dreamed of was that fighters don’t need to come to the UFC to have visibility,” continued Ilia Topuria. “The path to access and enter the octagon is very difficult to achieve, it has to come from the heart, because if you don’t like it, there are millions of reasons to throw in the towel and take another direction. These warriors I love what they do and the show is guaranteed,” he said while looking at the fighters who will fight this Saturday and who, almost all of them, attended the press conference.

“I see that it is quite possible to organize a WOW event at the Santiago Bernabéu”

Ilia Topuria

Two of the stars of the evening, Hecher Soda and young people Yaman ‘The Diamond’ Mjahedaccompanied Topuria and the WOW co-founders to the “presidential” table of the press conference. WOW 15 will feature a total of 12 professional and international matches.

With this new alliance, everyone is looking high. And Topuria, who among his next dreams must bring the UFC to Spain, more precisely to Saint-Jacques Bernabeuand he also does not rule out seeing a WOW event at the Coliseum one day. Real Madrid: “I see it as very, very possible and if you help us as you are doing now, much more,” he said, referring to the press. “If a contact sport event has ever taken place at the Santiago Bernabéu [‘La Velada del Año’ de Ibai Llanos]Nothing will stop us from thinking that we can’t do it. The mentality is always: if someone has been able to do it, we can do it too, and if no one has done it, we can be the first.”

Message for Max Holloway

Ilia also had time to talk about his other projects, such as the documentary that will be released in theaters on September 19 (‘Topuria: Killer‘). Likewise, he was asked about his next challenge in the octagon: against Max. HollowayOctober 27 at Abou Dubaiin his first UFC featherweight title defense.

“I’m better than ever, I wouldn’t want to be in anyone else’s shoes. I’ve prepared very hard. I’ve reached a level where I enjoy everything. Once you achieve the dream of becoming the best in the world, you realize that it’s possible,” he reflected on his form.

He dared to predict what it would cost him to defeat his rival: “I really feel like it’s going to be a very quick fight. If he gets past the first round, I’d be very surprised and he would. Have some respect from me because he’s really going to see a version of me that you’ve never seen before, the best thing you can do is have a good motorcycle helmet because you have no options,” he joked.

Topuria, who indicated that he always chooses to believe “in the things that make him happy and that everything is possible,” stressed that he is improving every day of his life and that he will follow the same path as until now. “I will follow the same path that I have traveled until now to improve myself every day of my life. I do not let myself be carried away or guided by the opinions of others because the most important thing is mine,” he concluded.