Ilia Topuria Nickname- What Does the UFC Star’s Moniker ‘El Matador’ Mean?

Undefeated UFC featherweight prospect, Ilia Topuria is gearing up to take on UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight championship. Topuria has been on an absolute roll ever since joining the promotion.

Topuria joined the UFC with an 8-0 record back in and has since gone on to win 6 straight in the UFC extending his record to 14-0. The UFC featherweight was born to Georgian parents but holds Spanish citizenship, which is also the reason for the fighter having a Spanish fight moniker.

What is Ilia Topuria’s nickname?

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 some of the most charismatic and skilled performers who partake in Bullfighting, which is a traditional Spanish spectacle. Matadors 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’.

Ilia Topuria is someone who is perfect for his moniker of ‘El Matador’ and here is why.

How ‘El Matador’ matches the Spaniard’s fighting style

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 12 of his 14 fights with finishes. With a knockdown average of 0.97, which is way over incredible strikers in the division with Yair Rodriguez with 0.24 and Calvin Kattar boasting a knockdown average of 0.42, and even the UFC featherweight champion holding a knockdown average below ‘El Matador’ with 0.37.

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Ilia Topuria is coming into the fight with a massive hype train behind him. But will that help him be able to secure a win against arguably the greatest featherweight of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.

Also Read: ‘Started Getting Headaches’- Alexander Volkanovski Reveals Outcome of ‘Tensing Hard’ for UFC 298 Clash Against Ilia Topuria