Ilia Topuria: from wrestling to two belts, and the grappling behind his boxing
One of Georgia's first two BJJ black belts, Ilia Topuria went on to become a UFC champion in two weight classes. Where his grappling comes from, how it supports his striking, and what jiu-jitsu students can learn from him.
Most people know Ilia Topuria for his knockouts: Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira. Fewer know that before any of that he was a grappler, and that in 2018 he and his brother Aleksandre became the first Georgians to earn black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Who he is
Topuria was born in 1997 in Halle, Germany, to Georgian parents who had fled Abkhazia. The family moved to Georgia when he was seven, and at fifteen he moved to Alicante, Spain. He holds both Georgian and Spanish citizenship.
In the UFC he won the featherweight title from Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024, defended it against Max Holloway, then vacated the belt, moved up, and won the vacant lightweight title against Charles Oliveira in June 2025. In June 2026 he suffered the first loss of his career, against Justin Gaethje, when his corner stopped the fight after the fourth round. His record stands at 17 wins and 1 loss. No next fight has been announced.
Where his grappling comes from
In Georgia, Topuria started Greco-Roman wrestling at a local school at the age of seven. When he arrived in Alicante at fifteen, he started training jiu-jitsu at the Climent club and soon began competing. He won silver at the IBJJF European Championship as a junior in 2014 and earned his black belt four years later.
That’s the combination we recommend to every parent who asks: a standing grappling art and a ground art together. Wrestling gave him balance and takedowns. Jiu-jitsu added control, defence and submissions on the ground.
The grappling behind the boxing
Eight of his seventeen wins came by submission: triangles, rear-naked chokes, guillotines, an anaconda choke, and an arm-triangle choke on Bryce Mitchell in the UFC in 2022. These days he finishes people standing, but the grappling never left.
According to the UFC’s own statistics, he stops 95% of the takedowns attempted against him. As coaches, we think that number is a big part of why he strikes with such confidence. Reliable takedown defence lets a fighter plant his feet and commit to his punches with less worry about ending up on the mat. It doesn’t explain everything he does standing, but his grappling base clearly supports it.
What a jiu-jitsu student can take from it
Topuria didn’t become a black belt by rushing. He started at fifteen and got his black belt at twenty-one, after years of steady training and competing. Jiu-jitsu is a process, and it never gets easier. You just get better.
The other lesson is for anyone who thinks jiu-jitsu is only for people who want to fight on the ground. Good grappling changes how you stand, how you move and how calm you are when someone grabs you. Topuria’s fights are one of the clearest examples.
Record checked on 14 October 2026 (UFC.com). This profile is updated after every fight.