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This Saturday, the Madrid Arena will host its first WOW event. It will be WOW 17, the second numbered card of the year... and the coming-out party for the MMA promoter that is leading the way in Spain. At the helm is Ilia Topuria (16-0), who presented the evening at the Movistar Esports Center in Matadero, Madrid, together with the eight fighters from the four main fights.
And Ilia, when asked by MARCA and the other media present, gave some clues about his future... of which, however, he is still unaware of the details, as he himself confirmed.
"I have no idea, I'd like to tell you otherwise, but I'm also with that doubt, I do not know when it's going to happen... The only thing I know is that I'm preparing myself, I'm ready for any opportunity that appears, so what Dana White and the whole UFC team decides, I'll be there to do my part," he told MARCA when asked about when there would be an announcement of his next fight.
In addition, 'The Legend', already presented under his new nickname, also spoke about preparing to face Islam Makhachev (27-1) for the lightweight belt... or Charles Oliveira (35-10). Those are the names he is dealing with.
"I'm preparing for Islam Makhachev, all my training is really focused on Islam or Charles (Oliveira, ed.)... because I don't see any other opponent. So I have those two names in mind: neither of them seems to dare. Then they have phrases that they make their own that a champion fights with whoever they are told and so on... and after that no, I don't want to fight with him because he is small. Then I change category, they say that now I'm in their category, then no, that I have not won enough. Well, they are symptoms of fear, we all know it, but it's normal, I would be afraid too," said Topuria.
Neither Makhachev nor Oliveira seems to dare
In the coming weeks, as Dana White told UFC London, we hope to find out about the next fight of the Spanish-Georgian.