Ilia Topuria has a major change announced ahead of his fight against Charles do Bronx at UFC 317

Ilia Topuria celebrates victory in UFC 298. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

On the eve of facing Charles of the Bronx for the vacant lightweight belt (up to 70,3 kg) in the main fight of the UFC 317, on June 28th, Ilia Topuria has been going through a major change in his career. According to information initially released by the Spanish newspaper 'Marca', the former featherweight champion (up to 65,7 kg) has split with his long-time coaches Jorge and Agustin Climent.

According to the news, the main reason for the breakup would have been geographical, since Ilia Topuria and his brother Aleksandre moved permanently to the Spanish capital Madrid, more than 400 km from Alicante, the city where the Climent Brothers academy is located.

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According to Spanish journalist Alvaro Colmenero, the former featherweight champion has already defined the 'hard core' of his preparation team for the title fight against Charles of the Bronx.

“For some time now, Ilia’s team has been made up of his brother Aleks and Javi Climent (not related to the Climent brothers). Javi Climent (originally a boxing coach and now a striking coach) moved to Madrid a few months ago to be part of the technical training core, something that will continue. In addition, he has added Mani Tavanaei and Mathias Ribeiro (black belts in jiu-jitsu) to his team. The separation with the Climent Brothers already existed, but it was not official,” the journalist highlighted.

With new team, Ilia Topuria faces Charles of the Bronx in the main fight of UFC 317, an event that closes the 'International Fight Week', on June 28, in Las Vegas, United States.