Ilia Topuria shares a quirky strategy for getting in shape for her matches.
Ilia Topuria: I get packed
The days before a fight are notoriously tough for fighters. The last weight must go. Excruciating sessions in the sauna, all to get rid of as much fluid as possible. In the past, people lay with a drip to recover, something that is, however, prohibited today. This is combined with an intense schedule of press conferences, interviews and official appearances for the organization.
To make this period easier, several fighters have found tricks that work for them. But of the more radical techniques, it belongs to Ilia Topuria. Namely, he drinks half a liter of wine close to match day. This helps him become relaxed and leads to better sleep and less nervousness, he says. Topuria told this during a interview with Michael Bisping.
So the thing is that when I drink half a litre of wine, and 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 litre of wine… I get very buzzed, very buzzed and I have very- such a great time with everyone.
It’s like we change the atmosphere, you know? We don’t think regarding 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.
Meet Alexander Volkanovski
Topuria is current with a title match once morest Alexander Volkanovski. The two meet tonight at UFC 298. Ilia has kept a high profile with several supportive statements in the media. According to him, it will be an easy night once morest the former pound-for-pound number one.
Much focus has been on the age difference between the two. Volkanovski is eight years older than Topuria. But in connection with this alleged advantage, an interesting statistic has come to circulate the web. In the featherweight’s 21 title fights, 15 have been won by the younger fighter. But in five of the six remaining matches, the older Volkanovsi was.
You can find more regarding the night’s gala here.