Ilia Topuria Sets Retirement Date
The featherweight champion will stop fighting when he no longer enjoys it.
Spanish-Georgian Ilia Topuria has emphasized that he is in the "best" stage of his career and isn't thinking about retirement. He still has several goals after winning the UFC belt on February 18, including maintaining his undefeated record, currently at 15-0-0, and fighting at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Topuria also mentioned that he was aware of the explosive growth in combat sports in recent years and the increasing number of people following it. “Honestly, I knew a lot of people were following the sport. Maybe not me personally, but I knew the sport was starting to gain a lot of attention and would eventually explode. I just knew it, don’t ask me why, but I knew,” he said in an interview with “Club del Deportista” magazine.
When asked about the age at which he plans to hang up his gloves, his answer was clear; however, he implied it would be when he stops enjoying the sport he is so passionate about.
“This is something very personal. I started in this sport, in mixed martial arts, at 15. So, I’d like to retire at 32 and give myself that age as a maximum. I say 32, but at the same time, another thought comes to mind, which is ‘until the moment I stop enjoying it.’ Right now, I’m enjoying it a lot, and I don’t know when the day will come when I say this is no longer fun,” Topuria said.