Why Ilia Topuria Has a Hole Above His Left Knee

Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria showed glimpses of the champion he would become after just a handful of fights in the promotion.

Fans instantly began to appreciate him for his precise striking, fluid combinations, and staggering power. There was one question, though, that kept coming up; why did he have a hole above his knee?

In July 2022, El Matador posted a photo of himself on Instagram entering the Octagon, where he had a visible scar that looked like a hole just above his left knee.

MMA fans immediately began to speculate as to the cause of the scar, with some fans theorising that it could have been the result of a staph infection or a medical procedure like amniocentesis, which is a prenatal test performed by a doctor to assess the health of an unborn child, while others hypothesised that it could've been the result of an injury.

Conspiracies as to the cause of the scar have continued to emerge over recent years, but the most popular fan theory was that it had been caused by a gunshot wound, which had healed but left a hole-shaped scar.

Topuria was confronted with these rumours by Shak MMA's Shakiel Mahjouri, who told him that fans were convinced that the Spanish-Georgian fighter had been shot when he was younger, asking him to clarify the cause of the scar.

The 28-year-old was quick to dismiss these theories, clarifying that the scar was caused by a childhood injury.

One small comment from Ilia Topuria was enough for his brother to wave off the contest, giving Justin Gaethje the win at the White House.

"I got a cut when I was a child with a crystal. When I was a child, I was playing with my friends, and yeah, I just got a cut with a crystal."

Mahjouri then joked that the actual cause of the scar was far less exciting than the bullet wound theory, and a smiling Topuria responded: "No, it's not a bullet."

Topuria was fast-becoming one of the very best in the UFC, racing to a 17-0 professional MMA record, with nine of those wins coming under Dana White's banner.

His three-fight knockout win streak in the space of 16 months over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and then Charles Oliveira was the stuff of legends, seeing him win the featherweight championship first, and then the lightweight championship.

However, his career recently hit its first roadblock, and that roadblock came in the shape of Justin Gaethje, who defeated him via TKO at UFC Freedom 250 in front of the White House on the South Lawn.

Topuria was defending his lightweight championship for the first time, but it wasn't to be as he was brutally stopped by the American, who landed a barrage of attacks on him throughout the four rounds.

Fortunately, the Georgian suffered no serious injuries, despite his face saying otherwise, but it's likely going to be several months before we see him back inside the Octagon.