Aleksandre Topuria is back in action for the third time in the UFC. The brother of former two-weight-class champion Ilia Topuria travels to Al Rayyan, Qatar, to take on Santiago Luna in the bantamweight division on November 21. The fight takes place at the ABHA Arena.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking with Heavy.com after an initial report from Diario AS.
The Older Brother
The 30-year-old Aleksandre Topuria started his professional career in 2015, just like his younger brother Ilia Topuria. They both made their debut on the same night in Valencia, Spain. Aleksandre fought three times in two months, and after losing his third fight, he decided to put his own MMA career on hold to help train his younger brother Ilia. In 2021, Aleksandre continued his fighting career with a win over Lucas Ténorio via TKO in the first round.
After also winning his next two fights by finish in 2022 and 2023, there were talks with the UFC about bringing him in. While his brother was holding the featherweight title, Aleksandre made his official UFC debut against Colby Thicknesse last year. Topuria won the fight after three rounds by unanimous decision. Also in his sophomore outing, he won by unanimous decision. This time, he beat Bekzat Almakhan at the end of last year. Now, almost a year after his last fight, Topuria returns to action to take on Santiago Luna in the bantamweight division.
Bright Prospect
Luna is eight years younger than Topuria and one of the biggest talents out of Mexico. Born in San Diego, California, but raised in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Luna started his professional MMA career in 2023. He fought his first four professional fights in his hometown for the UWC Mexico promotion. The Mexican fighter won all four fights by finish. After closing out 2024 with a submission win over Magomed Bayduev, he fought in San Diego the year after against Desmond Manabat. He won by knockout and got a phone call from the UFC four months later. Luna got offered a fight on short notice against Quang Le.
Luna accepted the fight and impressed in his UFC debut, knocking out Le in the first round. The knockout got Luna the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus. Luna has already fought twice this year. After a dominant win against Angel Pacheco, the UFC gave him a big step up in competition to fight Bryce Mitchell. It was too big of a step up. Mitchell won via arm-triangle choke submission in the third round. The first loss of Luna’s young career. He now gets a chance to bounce back when he takes on Aleksandre Topuria in Qatar.
UFC Qatar – Al Rayyan (November 21)
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Asu Almabayev
- Aleksandre Topuria vs. Santiago Luna
Aleksandre Topuria Books Fight on UFC Qatar Event