Though the jury may still be out on him, Aleksandre Topuria, the brother of UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria, undoubtedly scored a victory in his Octagon debut, defeating Colby Thicknesse during the preliminary card of UFC 312 in Australia.
The Spaniard and his Australian foe traded plenty of strikes to start things off, with the former also shaking off a pair of takedown attempts in the fight's opening minute.
Late in the first, Topuria rocked Thicknesse with a right hand, with the latter going down to the mat. In spite of "El Conquistador" taking his back, Thicknesse was able to get back to his feet and got away from his grasp. Topuria, however, managed to land one nasty-looking suplex in the round's closing seconds.
Thicknesse picked up the pacing and volume of his striking in the second round. The Spanish newcomer, however, maintained his stalking, pressure-based approach en route to another strong performance.
By the middle of the third round, Topuria had stuffed eight of Thicknesse's takedown attempts before "El Conquistador" took the fight to the ground himself. Ilia's brother rode out about half of the final round in top position, controlling the position and stopping any desperation submission attempts from Thicknesse.
Aleksandre Topuria, Ilia's Brother, Wins UFC Debut At UFC 312
The Spanish debutant went 2-1 in fights during 2015 before taking years off, helping Ilia out with his MMA journey. He competed three times between December 2021 and May 2023, winning all three fights, before making his UFC debut tonight.
Thicknesse, meanwhile,was 7-0 prior to tonight, most recently defeating Marven Malunes at a HEX Fight Series event in November.