Aleksandre Topuria
El Cazador
Georgia
Takes decision in Qatar
Topuria defeated Bekzat Almakhan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at UFC Qatar on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Topuria at a couple of heavy low kicks early, but he was able to outlast his opponent and pick up the win as a slight betting favorite. He was statistically superior in terms of both significant strikes and control time in all three frames, getting credited with a takedown in the first two. While he was only credited with 47 significant strikes in the contest, Topuria's were clearly the more impactful, as he had his opponent beaten and blooded by the second frame. He now improves to 2-0 under the UFC banner, with both wins coming via decision.
Topuria at a couple of heavy low kicks early, but he was able to outlast his opponent and pick up the win as a slight betting favorite. He was statistically superior in terms of both significant strikes and control time in all three frames, getting credited with a takedown in the first two. While he was only credited with 47 significant strikes in the contest, Topuria's were clearly the more impactful, as he had his opponent beaten and blooded by the second frame. He now improves to 2-0 under the UFC banner, with both wins coming via decision.
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Fighting Almakhan in Qatar
Topuria will take on Bekzat Almakhan at UFC Qatar on November 22, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Topuria will head into the bout riding a four-fight win streak across promotions dating back to 2021. The 29-year-old Georgian measures up evenly with Almakhan, matching the 28-year-old Kazakhstani in both height and reach. Topuria has a relatively balanced professional record across finishes giving him a plethora of strategies to employ against Almakhan, though he will have to remain wary of Almakhan's stopping power (10-0 professional record in KO/TKO finishes).
Topuria will head into the bout riding a four-fight win streak across promotions dating back to 2021. The 29-year-old Georgian measures up evenly with Almakhan, matching the 28-year-old Kazakhstani in both height and reach. Topuria has a relatively balanced professional record across finishes giving him a plethora of strategies to employ against Almakhan, though he will have to remain wary of Almakhan's stopping power (10-0 professional record in KO/TKO finishes).
Nabs decision in UFC debut
Topuria defeated Colby Thicknesse via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at UFC 312 on Saturday in Sydney, Australia.
ANALYSIS
The brother of the UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, Aleksandre now has just seven professional fights under his belt since debuting nearly a decade ago. His bout against Thicknesse here was his first since May 2023. It was a solid, if unspectacular performance. Facing a late-notice opponent, Topuria landed the slightly bigger blows and connected on 1-of-2 takedown attempts. He also racked up 4:11 worth of control time in the final frame. Topuria's long-term ceiling is anyone's guess. The bloodline is obviously elite, but he's barely fought, and we have zero evidence of how he will perform against better competition.
The brother of the UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, Aleksandre now has just seven professional fights under his belt since debuting nearly a decade ago. His bout against Thicknesse here was his first since May 2023. It was a solid, if unspectacular performance. Facing a late-notice opponent, Topuria landed the slightly bigger blows and connected on 1-of-2 takedown attempts. He also racked up 4:11 worth of control time in the final frame. Topuria's long-term ceiling is anyone's guess. The bloodline is obviously elite, but he's barely fought, and we have zero evidence of how he will perform against better competition.
Gets new opponent
Topuria will now take on Colby Thicknesse in a bantamweight bout at UFC 312 on Feb. 8th, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Topuria was initially slated to face Cody Haddon, but the latter was forced to back out for an undisclosed reason. It's not ideal to have you UFC debut reshuffled like this, but Topuria will have a little over a week to prepare to face a new opponent. If it's any consolation, Thicknesse will also be making his UFC debut.
Topuria was initially slated to face Cody Haddon, but the latter was forced to back out for an undisclosed reason. It's not ideal to have you UFC debut reshuffled like this, but Topuria will have a little over a week to prepare to face a new opponent. If it's any consolation, Thicknesse will also be making his UFC debut.
UFC debut scheduled
Topuria is scheduled to compete against fellow bantamweight Cody Haddon at UFC 312 on Feb. 8, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Topuria may be best known for being the older brother of the UFC Featherweight Champion, but the former brings a 5-1 all-time record with five finishes on the table. Up next for him is a relatively recent newcomer in Haddon, who won his UFC debut over Dan Argueta.
Topuria may be best known for being the older brother of the UFC Featherweight Champion, but the former brings a 5-1 all-time record with five finishes on the table. Up next for him is a relatively recent newcomer in Haddon, who won his UFC debut over Dan Argueta.