Paramount+ to release Ilia Topuria documentary prior to UFC White House card

Ahead of what could be its largest show to date, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has worked with its broadcast partner on some special programming. Via a release on Thursday from the UFC’s broadcasting partner of Paramount, a documentary focusing on part of Ilia Topuria ’s fighting career will be releasing on its streaming platform. The doc will drop on June 1 on Paramount+, a couple weeks before the UFC White House event which is headlined by Topuria against Justin Gaethje for the unified lightweight throne.

This specific documentary, titled “Topuria Matador,” will cover two major fights of Topuria. The spotlight will first shine on his match with Josh Emmett , which marked only the second time he had gone the distance as a pro. After beating Emmett, “The Matador” claimed a featherweight title shot and cashed it by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski —this is what the documentary will lead to as it progresses.

A man of many upbringings In addition to his July 2023 bout with Emmett and his championship tilt on February 2024 against Volkanovski, the documentary will delve into the fighter’s early life. Born in Germany to Georgian parents, his family including brother Aleksandre Topuria relocated to Georgia for some time before moving on to Spain, where they live and train now. The documentary will show some of the grizzly details of the fighting process, including his hard training sessions, his brutal weight cut and plenty of other detail from his coaches.

It will also bring in some of Topuria’s opponents to discuss what he brought to the table when facing them. Still undefeated as a professional, Topuria serves as one of a small handful of two-division champs in UFC history. He won the 145-pound strap against the aforementioned Volkanovski and defended it once by shellacking the seemingly unflappable Max Holloway .