For a rising UFC champion, gaining 400,000 new fans should be a celebration. For Ilia Topuria, however, it’s become a source that has drawn more skepticism than applause. And for context, this happened immediately after the announcement of his next fight.

The Georgian-Spanish star was recently confirmed to headline the UFC White House event on June 14 against Justin Gaethje. The event has attracted significant mainstream attention, coinciding with the United States’ 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. While the increased exposure could explain Topuria’s sudden spike in followers, some members of the MMA community aren’t convinced the growth is organic.

“Not sure if he’s buying followers again or it’s the White House announcement,” a popular MMA page Dovy wrote on X. “But he has gained 400k+ followers in 4 days.”

“Instagram users have started noticing a large number of bots in Ilia Topuria’s followers,” Full Mount MMA also reported on X.

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first time Ilia Topuria has faced accusations of buying followers. Back in June last year, West Till Death on Instagram shared screenshots of Topuria’s Instagram metrics, which showed hundreds of thousands of new followers within days. Still, there is no definitive evidence proving those followers are bots or were bought. 

The undefeated lightweight champion currently has 13.6 million followers on Instagram. According to Instastatistics[dot]com, Topuria’s follower growth began at the start of March last year and grew exponentially after UFC 326. He gained around 15,000+ followers on March 8, followed by another 22,000+ on March 9. The biggest spike came on March 10, when his account jumped by more than 200,000 followers in a single day.

Over the next two days, Topuria actually lost a small number of followers. However, the trend reversed again on March 13, when his account surged by another 168,883 followers.

In the past, some critics have also claimed that Topuria has adopted a manufactured persona as an arrogant trash talker in an attempt to replicate the success once enjoyed by Conor McGregor. However, McGregor had a unique ability to command attention and captivate audiences with his charisma. These qualities, many feel, are missing from Topuria’s often awkward and cringeworthy media interactions.

The posts accusing ‘El Matador’ of buying bots quickly sparked a wave of similar allegations from fans on social media.

Fan accuses Ilia Topuria of wanting to be Conor McGregor

Fans seemed convinced that something fishy was going on behind the scenes. One user claimed, “He buys them. He’s a jabroni who truly wishes he were on the Conor McGregor level.” Compared to Topuria, McGregor currently has 46.3 million Instagram followers.

Meanwhile, this user felt Ilia Topuria is in for a rude awakening. “Looks like hype trains aren’t just for the Octagon. If his skills can’t keep up with the follower count, he’s in for a rude awakening when the clicks don’t translate to performances,” the user wrote. That might not happen anytime soon, though, since Justin Gaethje is a massive underdog in the June 14 fight. 

Another fan explained why they believed Topuria bought followers. “Buying followers, you don’t gain that many actual, real followers from pretty much anything in only 4 days. Even his announcement post only has like 1.4 million likes, of which a large % is fake, but even if you assumed all 1.4 million likes were legit on the white house card post, you would, at best, expect 25-50k follows from 1.4 million likes,” the user explained. Had he gained those 400K followers after beating Gaethje on the White House card, perhaps it would have appeared possible.

Another user offered a potential reason for Topuria allegedly buying followers. “No, he can’t stand that Islam got more followers than him,” the user wrote. Islam Makhachev currently has 13 million followers on Instagram. Notably, there were talks of a fight between Topuria and Makhachev, but it ultimately didn’t happen. UFC CEO Dana White also revealed that Makhachev is currently injured. 

However, not everyone was accusing ‘El Matador’ of buying followers. “Bro, just because profiles have no pictures, [it doesn’t] mean they are bots. I’m not and enjoy X by just scrolling through it and reading the news,” the user claimed. According to a report from Basic Thinking last year, Instagram currently has 95 million estimated bots. And Statista has reported that there were 1.4 billion active users on Instagram last year. 

That being said, Ilia Topuria himself has yet to comment on the accusations. With no statement from Topuria’s camp, the questions surrounding his social media growth will likely follow him into his high-profile bout at the White House.