{"id":38501,"date":"2026-05-27T15:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Ilia-Topuria-recalls-being-so-scared-ahead-of-first-professional-fight-201341"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:35:26","slug":"ilia-topuria-recalls-being-so-scared-ahead-of-first-professional-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/ilia-topuria-recalls-being-so-scared-ahead-of-first-professional-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilia Topuria recalls being ‘so scared’ ahead of first professional fight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Ilia
\nTopuria<\/a> almost let the nerves get the better of him ahead of
\nhis first professional fight. <\/p>\n

Topuria (17-0) recently admitted that he was really scared going
\ninto his first professional fight in 2015. While \u201cEl Matador\u201d
\nstarted questioning his career choices, he was also motivated at
\nthe same time. Topuria claims that even the thought of not showing
\nup to the fight at all crossed his mind. While Topuria was only 18
\nyears old, his opponent was already a seven-fight veteran by
\nthen.<\/p>\n

\u2018I Went Through Hell\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u201cI was so scared for my first professional fight,\u2019 Topuria said on
\nDeepCuts with VicBlends<\/a>. \u201cI was like, \u2018Why
\ndidn\u2019t I study? What am I doing here?\u2019 I was so scared but at the
\nsame time so motivated\u2026 It was so weird. I went through hell, I
\nremember, that day. I was about to stay in the backstage. I had
\nthat thought. And he had way more experience than me. I was 18
\nyears old at that time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Topuria won his first fight against Francisco
\nAspirilla<\/a> in the first round via triangle choke. The undefeated
\nGeorgian-Spaniard finished all eight of his opponents before making
\nhis UFC debut, going past the first round only once. In his last
\nthree outings, Topuria knocked out Alexander
\nVolkanovski<\/a> to win the
\nUFC<\/a> featherweight title, knocked out Max
\nHolloway<\/a> to defend it, moved up and knocked out Charles
\nOliveira<\/a> to win the lightweight title. Topuria now puts his
\nlightweight title on the line against interim champ Justin
\nGaethje<\/a> at
\nUFC White House<\/a> on June 14. <\/p>\n