UFC Spain has been a longstanding ambition of Ilia Topuria’s but don’t expect it anytime soon. Even after picking up a second UFC world title earlier this weekend, the 28-year-old will be no closer to bringing his dream to life.
Topuria once again shocked the world at UFC 317, when he knocked out Charles Oliveira inside Madison Square Garden to become the first man to ever put the Brazilian out cold.
There were immediate calls for him to vacate the featherweight title, which he ignored, although whether he returns to 145lbs or not remains to be seen.
Either way, the Spaniard seemed to be destined for one thing, a homecoming title fight in front of his own crowd.
Ilia Topuria’s UFC Spain dream hits another roadblock
Ever since breaking through as a rising star in the UFC, Topuria has outlined his intention to bring the Octagon to Spain. Specifically, the two-weight world champion wants to fight at home in Madrid, at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
The venue’s retractable roof has made it a candidate to be the UFC’s first stadium show since UFC 243 in Australia six years ago. But speaking to the media after UFC 317, White said:
“Spain isn’t even an option right now.”
However, the UFC CEO did let slip that an eventual maiden trip to the European nation was all but inevitable, saying:
“It is the goal. We’ve been trying to get into Spain for a while here.
“But hopefully – that’s what I want to do and we’ll see if we can get it done…we’ll see what’s available and let’s see what we can figure out.
“We’re definitely going to Spain, it’s just a matter of when.”
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The hurdle blocking the UFC’s debut in Spain
Despite the fact White reiterated the promotion’s plans to eventually make its way to Spain, there are some glaring problems standing in the way.
Earlier this year, Topuria revealed an issue preventing UFC Spain, suggesting the need to host a potential pay-per-view in US primetime would be unfeasible. More recently, Rodrigo Del Campo González detailed another major issue related to Santiago Bernabeu.
“Bernabeu can’t host anything but football at the time, they’re having really bad permit issues with the city and the neighborhood. They remodeled in part to do concerts, they were able to host some but paid over 2.5 million Euros in fines for noise violations”, said the journalist.
He followed up by noting there was no issue with the NFL hosting a match at the venue later this year during the local afternoon.
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