UFC featherweight title challenger Ilia Topuria has revealed his unique approach to weight cuts for fights that involves alcohol.
In an interview with Michael Bisping Topuria said:
You know that on Thursday it's a very hard night for every fighter because it's a day before the weigh-ins. So it's hard to sleep, it's hard to rest, but I drink half a liter of wine... I get very buzzed, very buzzed and I have very- such a great time with everyone. We're changing the atmosphere. It's like we change the atmosphere, you know? We don't think about the fighting, we just celebrate, and I go to sleep like a baby. I wake up at the next morning with two pounds less, because of the dehydration, so everything plays out really well for me.
Ilia Topuria
Recall that on February 18 at UFC 298 Topuria will go into the octagon for a fight against Australian Alexander Volkanovski for the title of featherweight champion.
Topuria, 26, last stepped into the octagon against Josh Emmett in June 2023 at UFC on ABC 5, a fight that went the full distance and ended in favor of Ilia by unanimous decision. He has 14 wins and no losses on his record.
Volkanovski, 35, last fought against Islam Makhachev in October 2023 at UFC 294. In this confrontation, Alexander suffered a first-round knockout defeat. He has 26 wins and three losses on his record.