Ilia Topuria has caught the eye of the MMA world with his phenomenal performances inside the Octagon. Needless to say, his undefeated spree with 15 back-to-back wins has further strengthened his stance in the MMA cage. This attraction has often made the fighting community wonder about Topuria’s moniker. After all, that’s the one thing that truly represents a fighter, don’t you agree?

Despite being born in Georgia, Topuria got himself Spanish citizenship. His love for Spain was reflected greatly in his fights, as well as in his nickname. Today, let’s take a deep dive and find out all there is to know about Topuria’s moniker.

Why is Ilia Topuria called ‘El Matador’?

The UFC featherweight was bestowed the fight moniker by the name ‘El Matador’ which translates to ‘The Matador’ from Spanish to English. ‘Matador’ is a term specifically used to refer to bullfighters.

Matadors are indeed some of the most charismatic and skilled performers who partake in Bullfighting, which is a traditional Spanish spectacle. They are known for taking down massive bulls through swift and precise movements dealing the finishing blow with a perfectly placed thrust with swords and lances to the bull’s shoulders and vital part, which is mostly at the back of their spine.

Topuria decided to use the moniker of ‘El Matador’ as he admitted to being a big fan of bullfighting, and sees himself as a ‘Matador’ who who gets into the cage to fight against some of the most dangerous humans on the planet in front of thousands of people. This was shown in his fight against Josh Emmett where he put in a Matador-esque performance against a devastating finisher like ‘CCO’.

Many claim that the featherweight champion is a perfect representation of the Spanish bullfighters. Needless to say, all eyes are fixed on Topuria when he begins to dictate the fight inside the MMA cage. But does he actually fight like a Matador?

Does Topuria really fight like a ‘Matador’?

Matadors are known for having exceptional footwork when it comes to their movements along with their incredible accuracy in bringing down massive bulls. What people seem to overlook are the sheer guts of these fighters to step into danger against powerful animals that have the power to gore people to serious injuries. Topuria, being someone who understands the dangers of the sport embraces the moniker with pride.

‘El Matador’ just like his fight moniker would suggest, is one of the most tactile and devastating finishers in the featherweight division. Topuria has won finished two of 13 of his 15 fights with finishes. With a knockdown average of 1.07, which is way over incredible strikers in the division with Yair Rodriguez with 0.31 and Calvin Kattar boasting a knockdown average of 0.0.39, and even ‘The Great’ Alexander Volkanovski holding a knockdown average below ‘El Matador’ with 0.36.

Ilia Topuria is now coming into the fight scene with a massive hype train behind him. He is all set to fight Max Holloway at UFC 308. With the featherweight championship belt on the line, the Spaniard can indeed be expected to turn into a bullfighter and take the fight to ‘Blessed’.

But the question that remains is whether he can dictate the fight against the BMF champion. Well, all we need to do is wait and watch the story unfold. Do you think Topuria can win against Holloway? Let us know what you think of his moniker in the comments down below.