Ilia Topuria Leaves Coach of 4 UFC Champions Feeling a “Little Salty” With Split From Longtime Coaches

“This is the team that took him from being a young, young man to going 16-0 and becoming a UFC champion, beating the two greatest featherweights of all time. So having that familiarity is very important to an athlete… To me, that’s a little bit odd.” That’s Daniel Cormier, who stated on his YouTube channel, questioning Ilia Topuria’s decision to part ways with his longtime boxing coaches, Jorge and Agustín Climent. just before his UFC 317 vacant lightweight title fight against Charles Oliveira.

Well, it wasn’t just the former two-division UFC champ who had questions. The Topuria brothers’ decision shook the entire fanbase, too. His devastating hands were a custom-built weapon, crafted by the Climent Brothers. But as it turns out, distance played a big role in their split. Back when Topuria was a teenager, he trained at their gym in Alicante, Spain. But now, after reportedly building a $2 million gym in Madrid, that four-hour travel just doesn’t seem to work for them anymore.

After parting ways with their star student, the Climent Brothers released a statement on Hablemos MMA in Spanish: “Professionally, it’s painful. But in another way, I feel liberated and good.” However, that’s not the only reaction making waves. Ray Longo, who’s coached a star-studded lineup including Matt Serra, Chris Weidman, Aljamain Sterling, and Merab Dvalishvili, also weighed in on the situation, mostly calling out the Topuria brothers.

On the Anik and Florian Podcast, Longo said, “No, I’m gonna agree with Cormier, too. That Coach cannot come in with one or two weeks, and I think. I’m not saying that he could’ve make a big difference, but he can hold to what they were doing. It’s funny, tho, Kenny, everybody makes decisions after they are already on top for a while. Like, would you make that decision as he was coming up when he really needed the guy? That’s where I get a little salty. Like, hey, if you’re gonna do it, do it in the beginning.” 

That’s an emotional reaction from a veteran coach. Aside from distance being a factor, we don’t have many details on why they parted ways. Naturally, that’s led to questions: Was there any animosity between them? Giorgi Kokiashvili, a Georgian MMA reporter for SetantaSports.com, cleared the air by posting that there’s no bad blood between Topuria and the Climent Brothers, and the split was mutual.

How El Matador and his brother Alexandre Topuria plan to handle training will likely come to light soon, as more footage surfaces ahead of the UFC 317 showdown against Charles Oliveira. But before that, one of the Spaniard-Georgian’s former coaches believes his hands are only going to get more lethal in the lightweight division.

Ilia Topuria’s former coach believes he’s going to be the most powerful lightweight

Sure, not everyone’s a fan of the former 145-pound kingpin’s verbose nature, but nobody can deny the sheer, astronomical power in his hands. Knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 was huge, but some fans brushed it off, pointing to the Aussie’s head-kick loss at UFC 294 that left him looking a bit vulnerable. But when Topuria became the first man to shut Max Holloway’s lights out at UFC 308—that’s when he made his statement loud and clear. The power? Yeah, it’s no joke.

The fact that he did all that while cutting 30–40 pounds just to make the featherweight limit makes it even more impressive. Now that he’s optimizing his body for the lightweight division, many believe it’s only going to take one clean shot to the jaw before he flattens someone again, and his former performance coach, Jesus Gallo, agrees that’s exactly what’s coming.

Álvaro Colmenero uploaded on X, where Gallo said in Spanish: “He’s going to have the most punching power at lightweight. I have no doubt about it. I don’t think there is anyone at that weight who has the power he has. So in respect of that, we’re not losing anything… Ilia, I believe, will be the most powerful fighter at 155 pounds. I don’t have the slightest doubt.”

Well, El Matador’s power at lightweight is expected to rise, but whether it’ll hit with the same intensity it did at featherweight is going to be interesting to watch. We might just find out at UFC 317’s main event against Charles Oliveira, a fight many believe won’t even make it to the fifth round.

That being said, do you think Ilia Topuria’s big coaching change could affect his overall game heading into this ultimate showdown for the vacant title at International Fight Week? Or is his power simply too much for anyone to handle right now? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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