Ilia Topuria's quest to put his name and Spanish MMA in bright lights - ESPN

Ilia Topuria walked out of the tunnel onto the soccer pitch of the 100-year-old Estadio de Mestalla in Valencia, Spain, last Sept. 4, alongside fellow UFC fighter Brandon Moreno. The home team, Valencia CF, was warming up for its game that night against Getafe CF. Topuria and Moreno were on hand as part of a collaboration between the UFC and Spain's famed La Liga.

When Topuria and Moreno appeared, some fans raced down from the stands to ask for photos. A few recognized Moreno, the first Mexican-born UFC champion. Others, though, called out, «Ilia! Ilia!»

Topuria, 26, lives in Alicante, about a two-hour train ride from Valencia, and has rapidly become the biggest star in Spanish MMA — probably ever. Four months after visiting Mestalla, Topuria beat fellow up-and-comer Bryce Mitchell via second-round submission at UFC 282 on Dec. 10. He said things have blown up for him in Spain even more ever since.

«It's like everyone is recognizing me in the street when I go out,» Topuria told ESPN. «In Madrid, in Barcelona, in my city, in my hometown everyone knows me.»

Topuria has a chance to take things to the next level this weekend. On Saturday, he'll compete in his first UFC main event against Josh Emmett at UFC Fight Night in Jacksonville, Florida (3 p.m. ET on ABC). Emmett is coming off an interim featherweight title fight in January, and a win over Emmett would put Topuria right into the title conversation. ESPN's featherweight rankings have Emmett at No. 7 and Topuria at No. 10 (UFC ranks Emmett No. 5, Topuria No. 9).

It's not just that Topuria is very good, one of the most well-rounded fighters in the division. In MMA, fighters can be elite but not necessarily big stars. The multilingual Topuria has a chance to be both. His