Ilia Topuria has always been a man who makes the unthinkable appear natural, but no one saw his actions coming. You must be aware that Joe Rogan doesn’t do commentary on international UFC events. It’s essentially MMA law at this point. The man has his reasons: family, schedule, and his long-standing policy of exclusively working in the United States to focus on his podcast. But then Ilia Topuria reveals his fantasy fight in Spain, and the UFC commentator says something no one expected to hear: “I might have to go to Spain for that.” Wait…what? What could possibly lead the podcast king to reconsider his most sacred rule? The answer lies in a stadium, a roof, and 80,000 screaming Spaniards.
The revelation came amid a discussion about Topuria’s ideal scenario: fighting at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu against Liverpool’s rising star Paddy Pimblett. And when we talked about Joe Rogan breaking his rule, this wasn’t just a throwaway comment. During JRE MMA Show #166, Topuria got Rogan to seriously reassess his entire attitude. The Spanish star painted this wild image: 80,000 people crowded Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the retractable roof encircling the chaos, and ‘The Baddy’ stood across the cage. He said, “If they could put that fight in Spain in the Bernabeu Stadium—I know that Dana doesn’t like to put events in stadiums, but that’s the only stadium in the world that they can close the roof.”
You could almost see a lightbulb go off over the JRE host’s head as he concluded that this might be worth breaking the streak for. “You get 80,000 in Spain easy, too. If you’re fighting in Spain—oh my god, that would be insane. I might have to go to Spain for that,” Joe Rogan confessed. “But if they do it in Spain, it’s got to be on Spain time. They can’t do that f—– that they did with Leon Edwards.” To answer his doubts, ‘La Leyenda’ put out the numbers: 500 million potential viewers, Netflix streaming partnerships, and an entire continent eager for true UFC action.
Credits: Imago
These two were essentially creating a template for how to make European MMA relevant in real time. In fact, Ilia Topuria even revealed that the UFC is negotiating with ESPN to help out with the time zones in Europe, considering it is a ‘virgin market’ for the biggest MMA promotion in the world. “But I think with the negotiations they’re having with ESPN—and I don’t know which platform they’re going to put the UFC events on—they’re going to ask for space for four or five events in Europe in prime time for Europe.” Well, it seems like it would be a massive event if Dana White agrees to Topuria’s idea and manages to get the logistics right. But what about the fight? Would it be a good idea to have Ilia Topuria face Paddy Pimblett?
UFC veteran points out the major flaw in the Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett fight
While Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett at the Bernabeu seems like a promoter’s dream, Michael Bisping delivered a harsh reality check not too long ago. “You exclude one of them from the bigger picture,” ‘The Count’ warned, emphasizing the obvious: neither combatant can afford to lose right now if they want a serious chance at gold. ‘La Leyenda’ is determined to fight for the title against Islam Makhachev right away, while Pimblett is riding high off his Chandler win and looking at names like Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira. Force them into a grudge match now, when there are bigger fights on the line; that’s reckless behavior.
Bisping is not wrong. Pimblett’s decision to call out ‘Do Bronx’ rather than Topuria following UFC 314 was not an accident; it was strategic. “Charles Oliveira is incredible… most submissions, most bonuses,” ‘The Count’ reminded everyone, subtly indicating that ‘The Baddy’ may be biting off more than he can handle if he rushes into the Topuria bout. Meanwhile, Team Khabib’s coach Javier Mendez stirred the pot further by suggesting Paddy Pimblett “deserves” a title shot, which only complicated the situation. If the UFC books Topuria-Pimblett, they risk derailing two rising stars when they could be building them separately for much larger fights.
But here’s the twist in the tale: neither fighter appears to care about the “smart” approach. The Spanish-Georgian has already rebuffed the idea of a tune-up fight, while Pimblett casually claimed he’d forgotten about the Georgian-Spaniard before threatening to beat him in the same way he finished Michael Chandler. That kind of reckless confidence is exactly why this fight will sell, even if it isn’t the right one. Michael Bisping may choose Topuria-Makhachev as the money fight, but sometimes the beef tells its own story. And right now? This one begs for a Spanish chapter. What do you think? Should Dana White book this fight? Let us know in the comments.
The post Joe Rogan Ready to Break His 1 Rule if Dana White Agrees Ilia Topuria’s Demands for 80,000 Capacity Stadium appeared first on EssentiallySports.
