According to the Georgian media, the youngest UFC champion Ilia Topuria received the Georgian state award for his special personal contribution to the popularization of mixed martial arts in the country and successful sports activities.
The President of the Republic Salome Zurabishvili presented the fighter with the Order of Honor for outstanding sporting achievements.
Topuria currently lives in Spain and has flown to Tbilisi specifically to receive the award. This evening, he will demonstrate the championship belt before the qualifying match for the European Football Championship between the national teams of Georgia and Luxembourg.
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A month ago, 27-year-old Topuria won the featherweight championship belt by defeating Australian Alexander Volkanovski. This victory was the Georgian fighter's 15th in a row in MMA. He has not yet suffered a single defeat in his career.
Topuria got $350,000 for winning. He donated part of this money to the treatment of children with cancer in Georgia.
Earlier this month, Topuria received Spanish citizenship, automatically losing his Georgian citizenship. The other day, Prime Minister of the Republic Irakli Kobakhidze promised to return the Georgian citizenship to him.
