"Ilia will reach where no combat athlete has ever reached." The team of Ilia Topuria is clear about the progression of the Matador. They do not speak of the fighter's achievements in the octagon but of a media projection that they have been carefully nurturing since the beginning of his career. "Topuria is a perfect product with a very well-prepared team," assesses Mario G. Gurrionero, strategic director of CEG, Communication Advisors for Elite Athletes.
Topuria, who was once the face of a Dolce & Gabbana perfume, has just signed a sponsorship contract with Adolfo Domínguez. He also has agreements, among other companies, with Estrella Galicia, Future, or Venum. By the end of the year, two or three new "major" brands will be added. HBO plans a series about his figure. "Only one other fighter has done this before, and that is Connor McGregor," state the fighter's team to explain the significance that the Spanish-Georgian athlete's figure is achieving, being sought after by various audiovisual platforms.
No one could have imagined, except for him, that from setting up hammocks on the beaches of Alicante, he would become a global icon, among many other achievements, with the highest social media engagement, or in other words, the one that generates the most traction in the virtual world with 230 million views on Instagram alone. And that comes with a price tag, not a small one, making it seem easy to move a conservative world like that of brands.
From the fighter's circle, they explain that connections with sponsors are not random but must align with Topuria's own principles. Thus, regarding nutrition, one of the sectors that most frequently uses his image, they always have to promote healthy values. As an example, they mention Mucho, the drink that the fighter has developed with Estrella Galicia, which contains no sugars or caffeine. "We preferred to create our product rather than sign with any multinational," they point out.
The connection he has created with young people since the beginning of his career is special. Just see how the members of the Spanish national team, other global sports icons, whom he visited at the Ciudad del Fútbol de las Rozas before the national team's match in Elche against Georgia, greeted him admirably as if they were the children appealing to them at every open-door training session of Luis De la Fuente's team. However, the Matador's team reveals that his audience is not purely male and has over 30% female followers.
Topuria greets the national team players.Ángel Martinez/RFEFEFE
"He is immaculate," describes Gurrionero as the fighter's great advantage. The elite athlete communication specialist refers not only to the almost unreal record in the UFC: 17 wins, 15 before the end of the fight, and zero losses. He also speaks of the image he projects as a person. "He has not gotten into big controversies," he explains about the importance of a model attitude in building trust with brands.
What is striking about Topuria is that this media impact has been generated from a contact sport like mixed martial arts, an environment that has not always been well-received by sponsors but is changing recently, mainly thanks to the Spanish-Georgian fighter. "Combat sports are here to stay, and young people consume them a lot," state the Matador's team.
The trend of combat sports
Topuria strikes Volkanowski.Getty
With Topuria, Spanish media attention has returned to the ring, "after a 50-year valley," as Gurrionero points out, and also that of sponsors, which does not guarantee that his figure's disappearance or even a defeat could diminish the "wave that brands have now caught onto." It might be a "short-term" investment, justifies the communication specialist, believing that it focuses more on his figure than on the sport itself. However, he appreciates that Topuria's impact has few precedents in the sports world.
Beyond his advertising appeal, the Matador is aware that his legacy lies in the octagon. Therefore, the multiple offers that may come his way must always be made outside of his training camps, the preparation periods for a fight, which usually last about 12 weeks. Hence, he has also invested over two million euros in his training center. This amount does not solely come from the fights he has had in the UFC, although in the last one against Oliveira, due to his increased status in the company, it could have risen to four million dollars. "He is well-liked, everyone loves him, and brands take advantage of that, we'll see when he loses," Gurrionero shares. If he loses...