UFC star Ilia Topuria has officially parted ways with his longtime coach Jorge Climent just weeks before one of the biggest fights of his career.
The unbeaten Spaniard is set to face former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas on 29 June. The bout will be for the vacant lightweight title, giving Topuria a shot at becoming a two-division champion.
Topuria and his brother, fellow UFC fighter Aleksandre Topuria, have ended their long-standing relationship with the Climent brothers, Jorge and Agustin, who coached them from early in their careers. According to Jorge Climent, the split was mutual and based on logistics rather than any fallout.
“It’s true,” Climent told Submission Radio. “Ilia moved to Madrid, and I’m still based here with my brother in Alicante. He has his own gym now and wants to focus all the energy on himself.”
Climent was by Topuria’s side for the biggest moments of his career, including his title-winning knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and the first-round KO of Max Holloway at UFC 308, the first time Holloway had ever been finished. After that featherweight title defence, Topuria vacated the belt to pursue lightweight gold.
Despite the split, Climent had only praise and support for his former fighter.
“Yes, it’s emotional. We were with him from the beginning. But he’s grown now and wants to fly on his own,” said Climent. “We’re proud of what we achieved together, and I only want the best for him and his brother.”
With his move to Madrid, Topuria has created a private training environment at home where he can run his camp on his own terms. Climent believes that even with the change, Topuria has what it takes to beat Oliveira and anyone else he faces.
“He’s still the best. I know he’ll beat everybody. He’s always going to be like our son.”
Topuria remains undefeated at 16 and 0 and enters UFC 317 with momentum and confidence. Whether this change in camp will affect his performance is the question many are asking. The answer will come on 29 June in Las Vegas.
Photo: Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images
