Bedridden Ilia Topuria had to overcome 26lb weight cut and horror illness to make UFC debut

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Bedridden Ilia Topuria had to overcome 26lb weight cut and horror illness to make UFC debut

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Donagh Corby | Last updated Apr 16, 2026 1:57 PM ET

Ilia Topuria was struggling to get out of bed and was almost 30lb overweight during a vicious battle with covid when he received a life-changing UFC callup.

The Georgian-born Spaniard was given a short-notice fight with Youssef Zalal on Fight Island during the height of the pandemic in October of 2020. He was battling the disease at home, but accepted the call regardless and somehow dropped 26lb to make the featherweight limit.

And after overcoming arguably his toughest fight to date, he went on a winning streak that would see him become a two-division world champion. Now, he headlines the UFC White House card against Justin Gaethje on June 14.

Ilia Topuria recalls his gruesome battle with illness ahead of UFC debut

For any fighter, getting the call from UFC is a dream come true. But for Ilia Topuria, it came at the absolute worst time as he was unable to get out of bed due to a battle with the coronavirus – all while he was considerably over the weight needed to fight.

Speaking with Adam Catterall for One on One MMA, Topuria recalled: “I didn’t want to get that call, I was sick with covid, I remember I was in my bed and I wasn’t even able to walk for two weeks, finally I said ‘I’m going to go outside and run for ten minutes’.

“I did 15 minutes and I had to come back, I sat in my house and my phone started to ring, I picked up the phone and they were like ‘do you want to fight in the UFC in eight days?’ I’m like ‘how am I going to make that happen?’

“I had to lose 12kg [just over 26lb] in eight days, so many things I had to do, but whatever. I said yes, I didn’t know how I was going to make it happen but let’s do it.”

It ended up being a very lucrative move for Topuria, who is now one of the sport’s biggest stars and a multiple-division world champion.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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