UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria Awkwardly Pays Tribute To Himself On Instagram

There is nobody Ilia Topuria loves more than himself.

Even before strapping the 145-pound title around his waist in February, ‘El Matador’ was singing his own praises and making some pretty big plans for the future. To be fair, Topuria has lived up to his self-induced hype, smashing former featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the second round of their UFC 298 headliner while keeping his ‘O’ intact.

To celebrate all he’s accomplished, Topuria took to social media where he paid tribute to the person who has provided him with everything he has. … Himself.

“Today I want to express my gratitude to this person for providing me with everything I have, for supporting me to withstand any circumstance and for never losing faith in God and in the attraction of all good things to me,” Topuria wrote in a translated post. “Always relying on me and giving me the life I now enjoy. Today I want to thank myself for all the times I’ve respected myself, loved myself, forgiven myself.

“Long live the Matador that lives inside me! I will always be proud and with a smile on my face, remembering all that I have accomplished.”

Max Holloway Ready to add Ilia Topuria to his already impressive resume

Ilia Topuria’s first defense of the featherweight title has not yet been announced, but all signs currently point toward a September return against the promotion’s reigning BMF titleholder, Max Holloway.

In the eyes of many, Holloway was already the next man in line, but an insane buzzer-beating knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 to claim the bragging rights belt seemingly pushed him over the edge.

Blessed’ is certainly no stranger to strapping gold around his waist, having already captured the interim and undisputed featherweight titles in addition to the BMF belt.

Along the way, Holloway has shared the Octagon with some of the best fighters in the history of the sport, including ‘The Korean Zombie’ Arnold Allen, Alexander Volkanovski, Frankie Edgar, Dustin Poirier, Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis, and Charles Oliveira.

Will he add Ilia Topuria to his hit list in 2024?