Topuria shows herself “without filters” in her film ‘Topuria: Matador’: “It allowed me to get to know myself better”

Spanish mixed martial arts fighter Ilia Topuria, current UFC featherweight champion, presented the film ‘Topuria: Matador’ on Wednesday about his path to the coveted belt, a project in which he shows himself “without filters” and allowed him to get to know himself “better” as a person.

“Watching images from the film brings back a lot of memories and reliving them fills me with emotion. It gives me goosebumps, sometimes I’m judged for being a perfectionist, I’ve been through a lot,” he said about the documentary film covering the last year and a half of the fighter, UFC champion since last February.

‘El Matador’ hits the big screen on September 19 with this new project, in which fans will discover “many facets” of Topuria, as a father, brother or son. “At times it was shocking even for me, the film allowed me to get to know myself better, I saw myself in many situations that I don’t see myself in naturally,” he acknowledged.

“It’s a film without filters, he who fears nothing has nothing to hide. I hope that people will be inspired and motivated by the film,” added the athlete, who is “proud” of this new project.

In it he managed to forget about cameras and microphones, to show himself as he is. “And that’s why it surprises you when you see it. The beauty of the film is that, everything is told without a filter. It makes me feel bad to watch it, it’s hard to see yourself, but I hope people enjoy it. For me, it’s a success,” he concluded.

“The message of the film is that it doesn’t matter where you come from if you know where you’re going. It seems easy, but imagine betting on the project of becoming a champion for years. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will. You always have to improve yourself to have a very good opinion of yourself, that’s what will be reflected in the near future,” Topuria reflected in response to questions from the media.

The fighter describes the film as a “work of art” in which he will also be seen as “quite cheesy,” he admitted with a laugh. “Maybe I’m not the nicest guy when I talk to my team in tough times. But I really like discovering all those facets of myself and the opportunity to see it,” he said.

“The worst moment of the film was the weight loss, one never gets used to hunger and thirst, that’s when you realize what life is all about. And the best, besides the knockout, is difficult, because there are so many moments that I can’t explain,” he added about the film.

And after this film about his feat of winning the UFC featherweight belt, Topuria does not rule out jumping into fiction. “I might do something as an actor, I’ve always had that in mind. But now I’m completely focused on my career and finishing hunting this rabbit,” he said.

The film, which has the collaboration of Movistar —where it will be available to watch exclusively after its release in theaters on September 19— and Filmax, has as executive producer Iñigo Pérez-Tabernero, who acknowledged that participating in this film “has been a gift.”

“The production of the film has been like a part of the fun for me. The night before the first meeting I’ll prepare some paperwork. I wanted to do ‘Creed’ for real and he said no, because Creed loses and he never loses,” he revealed.

For Guillermo Farré, director of Original Cinema and Spanish Cinema at Movistar Plus+, the Ilia Topuria phenomenon is a “great story” to tell. “We already did a Plus report in 2023 and the data was crazy, there was a lot of interest. It’s a film that shows someone with goals, it’s fascinating,” he praised.

“It was an obligation to participate in this film. We got into it and we are excited, the film is incredible. You see a human being who enriches you, you cry, you suffer, you even compete with him. We are going to take the Ilia phenomenon all over the world,” concluded Jonathan Cogul, Director of National Sales and Acquisitions at Filmax.