Ilia Topuria seems to be enjoying a relaxing summer despite losing his UFC lightweight title, and his recent trip to Ibiza with fellow countryman and soccer star Ferran Torres has provided his manager with plenty of material to work with.

‘El Matador’ was recently caught partying with Torres in Ibiza, and clips from the night quickly went viral online. In the videos, the two appeared to be having a good time together, and one specific moment of them embracing drew a lot of attention from fans. And as expected. Ilia Topuria’s manager and friend, Malki Kawa, was not going to pass up the opportunity to poke fun at the former champion.

“Can somebody please tell him that I’m not in that video?” Kawa said as Topuria laughed and held onto his manager. “Stop, stop, stop. Somebody stop this guy, stop this guy.”

The clip in question with Ferran Torres had already garnered a lot of attention online due to how close the two friends appeared in the footage, with some fans reading more into the situation than was likely intended. As expected, the internet simply had a day with it. And honestly, Ilia Topuria’s manager seemed perfectly happy to play along, as well.

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However, what is actually worth paying real attention to is that the vacation to Ibiza comes at an unusual time for ‘El Matador.’

The former two-division UFC champion has taken some time off after suffering his first professional setback at UFC Freedom 250. And to be fair, the defeat wasn’t exactly a minor setback either.

Justin Gaethje stopped Topuria with a fourth-round corner stoppage, and the Spaniard reportedly sustained non-displaced fractures to both orbital bones during the bout. By the end of the fight, Ilia Topuria’s eyes were severely swollen and were enough for his brother Aleksandre Topuria to throw in the towel.

Since then, there is still no clear date for his comeback, and the lightweight division seems to be moving forward without him. As for ‘El Matador’, he appears to be enjoying life away from training for the moment, even if it brought some major comparisons to Conor McGregor.

So it would be interesting to see when and where we actually get to the Spanish-Georgian next. Whether in the UFC or maybe chilling with Ferran Torres yet again, there’s actually a much more genuine reason behind the friendship between the two than many fans actually know.

Ferran Torres credits Ilia Topuria with changing his mindset

The 2026 World Cup winner has previously spoken at length about how much ‘El Matador’ inspired him after they first met in 2023. The FC Barcelona forward revealed that he saw the UFC star in the United States and asked him about an upcoming fight. And with the ice-cold response, Ilia Topuria’s confidence immediately stood out.

“I arrived as Ferran, and I returned as another,” Torres said on ‘The Wild Project’ podcast. “I met Ilia Topuria and saw his circle of trust and how they always made him believe he was the best, unconditional support.

“I asked him how he looked ahead of the fight, and he said, ‘He’s not going to make it past the first round.’ I want to be like that.”

The experience appears to have changed Ferran Torres’ approach to his own career. The 26-year-old entirely changed his routine, telling his fitness instructor that he wanted to train twice a day and requesting his nutritionist to help him lose three kilograms.

“I told my fitness coach I wanted to train twice a day, every day,” he added. “I told my nutritionist I wanted to lose three kilos, and my physio that I wanted two hours of treatment. It wasn’t negotiable.

“What keeps you at the elite level is discipline and consistency. Motivation only comes and goes, and it won’t get you to the biggest goal. I told them I was going to change and that I wanted them with me through the invisible work.”

Ilia Topuria even helped Torres earn his well-known ‘Shark’ nickname. The footballer explained that he informed his Barcelona teammates about ‘El Matador’ referring to himself as the shark, and they began sending him shark emojis. And well, the nickname stuck.

Years later, the two appear to have formed a true friendship despite ‘El Matador’ being a die-hard Real Madrid fan. As for Ilia Topuria’s manager, Malki Kawa, he is more than happy to embarrass him whenever the internet gives him an opening.