Elijah Topuria will receive citizenship for defeating Alex Volkanovski

This was announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after meeting with the UFC champion.

“Your will, dedication and perseverance allowed you to achieve your dream,” Sanchez wrote on social media, referring to Topuria. “Your second dream will soon become a reality. Your love for Spain will be validated with a Spanish passport.”

Ilia Topuria, 27, was born in Germany to a Georgian family, with whom he moved to Spain as a teenager. There, Topuria began practicing MMA at the Clement Brothers Club in the city of Alicante, where he currently resides with his family.

Earlier it became known that the native brother of Elijah Topuria, 28-year-old Alexander Topuria, signed a contract to the strongest league in the world, under the banner of which will debut this year.

Recall that on February 17 at UFC 298 in Anaheim, Elijah Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round, taking away from the Australian the UFC featherweight championship belt, after which he rose to the fifth line in the ranking of the best fighters of the organization regardless of weight category.