Topuria said he was extremely scared before his first professional fight in 2015. He questioned his preparation and wondered what he was doing there, while also feeling motivated. He even considered not showing up and remembered going through a difficult mental period on fight day. He nearly stayed in the backstage area and noted that his opponent had far more experience, with Topuria only 18 years old at the time. He won his debut against Francisco Aspirilla in the first round via triangle choke. He later finished all eight opponents before his UFC debut and has since won and defended the featherweight title, then moved up to win the lightweight title. He will defend his lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje on June 14.
"“I was so scared for my first professional fight,” Topuria said on DeepCuts with VicBlends. “I was like, 'Why didn't I study? What am I doing here?' I was so scared but at the same time so motivated... It was so weird. I went through hell, I remember, that day. I was about to stay in the backstage. I had that thought. And he had way more experience than me. I was 18 years old at that time.”"
"Topuria won his first fight against Francisco Aspirilla in the first round via triangle choke. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard finished all eight of his opponents before making his UFC debut, going past the first round only once. In his last three outings, Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win the UFC featherweight title, knocked out Max Holloway to defend it, moved up and knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title."
"Topuria now puts his lightweight title on the line against interim champ Justin Gaethje at UFC White House on June 14."
Read at Sherdog
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