The matchmakers and trainers shaping Ilia Topuria’s lightweight title run

Intense Miami training sessions

Topuria builds his conditioning in Miami under physical trainer Jesus Gallo. Gallo has over 20 years of experience training athletes across the UFC, NBA, MLB, and NFL. He runs the Elite Athletes Performance gym in Miami and holds a degree in Exercise Physiology. During preparation for the June 14 fight against Justin Gaethje at the UFC White House, Topuria’s intensity forced sparring partners to request relief. One partner told him, "Go a little softer, you’re a gazelle." His sparring partners had to ask him to calm down because he thinks Justin Gaethje is in front of him, though he claims he does not notice when he picks up the pace. Merab Dvalishvili stopped sparring with Topuria because the fighter hits too hard, dropping the former champion twice with body shots in one session. Lazaro Dayron, an undefeated bantamweight, also spars with him. Henri Hooft, the head coach at Kill Cliff FC, says Topuria works with everyone from Dagestani wrestlers to top strikers. He also sparred with former pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman. Before moving to Miami, Topuria trained at Climent Club in Alicante under Argentinian brothers Agustin and Jorge Climent. The gym remains the first of its kind in Alicante and opened in 2002. He also practiced Greco-Roman wrestling in Georgia. You already know his reputation, but the training intensity in Miami remains extreme. He remains a multilingual fighter who has built a massive following. He carries the nickname "El Matador" due to his reputation as a finisher. He was born in Germany to Georgian parents and moved to Alicante as a child.

Management and weight shifts

First Round Management handles all booking and commercial enquiries for Topuria. Manager Malki Kawa initially pursued a fight with Islam Makhachev because larger fights generate more money. Kawa rejected a specific offer for the Makhachev fight because the provided number was too small. Makhachev responded to Topuria’s social media posts by suggesting the fighter ducked him and that he would fight for free. Topuria moved to the 155-pound division after finding the 145-pound cuts too difficult. He relinquished his featherweight title to make this move. This decision helped him win the lightweight title at UFC 317 in June 2025 by knocking out Charles Oliveira in the first round.

Topuria wants a fight with Makhachev to build his legacy. He told reporters in Las Vegas that the 10-pound difference in weight makes a massive difference in his training. He previously spent 12 weeks cutting weight for his featherweight fights. He aims to return to the octagon in the spring, specifically in April or May. He previously defeated Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in his last three fights. He was the betting favorite going into his bout against Oliveira.

The consequences of the Gaethje fight

The TKO loss to Gaethje at the UFC White House event left Topuria with a 17-1 professional record. Topuria fought with orbital bone fractures without displacement, which caused him to fight blind for much of the match. Presenter Pablo Motos described Topuria making two blind assaults. His brother and coach, Aleksandre Topuria, stopped the fight at the end of the fourth round to protect his health. While Topuria joked about falling hard in the hospital, social media followers criticized the team. User @juancostac noted that the team seemed surprised by his performance and criticized the lack of instructions given to him during the fight. The team’s failure to address his physical decline in the second round was a mistake. Gallo also faced criticism because Topuria showed low physical condition starting in the second round. The eye injury keeps the fighter out of competition for months. This injury followed a potential illegal eye poke by Gaethje in the first round, though Topuria did not complain to the referee at the time. Motos recounted that the fighter told him, "Champions, when we fall, we fall hard, huh." He then began to outline how he would prepare for the rematch. Will his management secure the Makhachev fight once he recovers?