Ilia
Topuria and his brother Aleksandre
were in attendance for Guram
Kutateladze's engagement party.

Kutateladze recently got engaged to his partner, Erika Nielsen.
Ilia and Aleksandre were seen rejoicing and congratulating their
longtime friend and teammate. This is one of the few occasions the
former two-division
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder has been spotted
without sunglasses since his title loss to Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250.

Ilia Topuria’s latest public appearance comes at Guram
Kutateladze’s celebration

Kutateladze was a highly touted prospect going into his UFC debut
in 2020 and lived up to the hype with a split decision win over
Mateusz
Gamrot. However, “Georgian Viking†endured an inconsistent UFC
stint thereafter, going 3-3 in the promotion. He was released from
the UFC following a loss to Kaue
Fernandes last year and has since scored a first-round knockout
win over fellow UFC veteran Victor
Hugo on the regional circuit.

The friendship between Kutateladze and the Topuria brothers goes
all the way back to their Georgian roots. Ilia's initial beef with
Paddy
Pimblett had started when the Liverpool native insulted Georgia
during an online spat with Kutateladze in 2021.

Kutateladze's engagement party marks one of the handful of
occasions Topuria has been seen publicly since losing his
lightweight belt in a bout wherein he suffered extensive facial
damage. “El Matador†was also seen celebrating Spain's World Cup
victory and was recently spotted in Ibiza.

Guram
Kutateladze celebrates with Ilia and Aleksandre
Topuria after getting engaged to his partner Erika Nielsen
🥹ðŸ’

Congratulations Guram â¤ï¸

📹: @guram_dze /
Erika Nielsen pic.twitter.com/sr35zY0QGe

— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt)
July 27, 2026

Navajo
Stirling doesn't think he's on a collision course with his
training partners in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Stirling (10-0) is scheduled to face his biggest step up in
competition so far in Jan
Blachowicz at
UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia. Stirling accepted the fight
on less than three weeks' notice, after the former light
heavyweight champion's original opponent, Bogdan
Guskov, accepted another short-notice booking.

A win over Blachowicz moves the Kiwi closer to the title, which is
currently held by his teammate, Carlos
Ulberg (14-1). Despite former middleweight champion Robert
Whittaker also being in the mix at 205 pounds, Stirling doesn't
see himself fighting either one of his teammates.

Navajo Stirling discusses Carlos Ulberg, Robert Whittaker and
the UFC 205-pound title picture

Whittaker (28-9), who has been training at
City Kickboxing lately, enjoyed a successful move up to the
light heavyweight division, finishing Nikita
Krylov. Amidst the Australian committing to the 205-pound
division and Ulberg winning the title, Stirling has shut down all
talks of a potential matchup against either Whittaker or
Ulberg.

Stirling also believes Whittaker and Ulberg have the same stance on
fighting their teammates and claims he can avoid a collision with
them as he is much younger. Rather, the 28-year-old wants to help
Ulberg cement his title reign at light heavyweight.

“Rob and Carlos are the best training partners, best bunch of
blokes to be around,†Stirling told Full Send MMA. “I don't want to
fight either of them. I think we are all on the same page. I think
the difference between the boys and me is that I'm super young.
There's no rush for me as well. Carlos has still got a couple of
years to solidify himself and I can still focus on helping him do
that.â€

Navajo
Stirling shuts down any talk of potential fights with Carlos
Ulberg or Robert
Whittaker

“Rob and Carlos are the best. I don't want to fight either of them.
I think we are all on the same page. I'm still young enough to help
Carlos solidify himself as champion†pic.twitter.com/iL7hdYPCmG

— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma)
July 27, 2026

Navajo
Stirling believes Khamzat
Chimaev is a one-dimensional fighter.

After Chimaev suffered the first loss of his professional career,
the hype surrounding the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion has dampened. Stirling
recently called him a “one-trick pony†and wants Chimaev to move up
to light heavyweight so they can fight.

Why Navajo Stirling Believes Khamzat Chimaev Isn’t a Complete
Fighter

While Stirling acknowledges that Chimaev would bring much attention
to the 205-pound division, the unbeaten Kiwi wants to expose how
“Borz†isn't a well-rounded fighter.

“I think he's a bit of a one-trick pony,†Stirling told Full Send
MMA. “I would love to fight him. I want to test my theory against
someone like that. I would love for some bigger names to come to
the division that could bring some hype.â€

Chimaev was undefeated and a massive betting favorite going into
his first middleweight title defense against Sean
Strickland at
UFC 328 this past May. However, he visibly gassed out after a
failed takedown attempt in the second round and completely
abandoned his wrestling thereafter.

Strickland then out-landed Chimaev on the feet en route to a
massive upset win via split decision. UFC CEO Dana
White later claimed that Chimaev had discussed a move up to
light heavyweight in the immediate aftermath of his first
professional loss. However, he has since been repeatedly calling
for a rematch against Strickland.

Meanwhile, Stirling has racked up five UFC wins, with two finishes,
since making his Octagon debut in 2024. He is now scheduled to
fight Jan
Blachowicz on less than three weeks' notice at
UFC Belgrade on Aug. 1 in Serbia.

Navajo
Stirling wants Khamzat
Chimaev to come up to light heavyweight

“I think he's a bit of a one trick pony. I would love to fight him,
I wanna test my theory against someone like that. I would love to
see bigger names in the division that could bring some hypeâ€
pic.twitter.com/L08xcGyEjX

— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma)
July 27, 2026