Ilia Topuria splits with long-time coach ahead of bid for second UFC title

Ilia Topuria is set for one of the biggest fights of his life at UFC 317. That hasn’t stopped him from changing up his coaching staff.

Spain’s Topuria is the former UFC featherweight champion. After vacating the belt last year, he is set to challenge Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317 on June 28.

According to Irati Prat of Marca, Topuria has decided to part ways with his long time coaches, Jorge and Augustin Climent ahead of the fight. The former featherweight champ’s brother Aleksandre, also a UFC fighter, will follow suit.

It’s not the first big change Topuria has made ahead of UFC 317.

Why is Ilia Topuria parting ways with the Climent brothers before UFC 317 title fight?

According to Prat’s report in Marca, Topuria and the Climent brothers are parting on good terms. Their split is based on logistics, more than anything else.

“The parties live in different cities, and their multiple professional projects prevent them from collaborating in the same way they always have,” Prat reported in Spanish. He added that the Topuria brothers thank their former coaches “for all these years of mutual learning and growth, and sincerely wish them all the best in all their projects.”

It remains to be seen who Topuria will have on his team as he ramps up training for UFC 317.

Topuria claimed the featherweight title with an impressive knockout of MMA legend Alexander Volkanovski early last year. Later in the year, he defended the belt with a knockout of Max Holloway. Holloway had never been stopped by strikes before. It was soon after that Topuria decided to vacate the belt and move up to lightweight.

Topuria campaigned relentlessly for a fight with pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, who has held the lightweight belt for years. However, Makhachev also vacated his belt to change divisions. He’s expected to challenge welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight belt soon.