Aleksandre Topuria, brother of champion Ilia Topuria, signs with UFC

Aleksandre Topuria is joining his brother Ilia Topuria in the UFC, MMA Fighting confirmed after the bantamweight talent announced on social media.

UFC has yet to work on a date and opponent for his octagon debut.

Topuria, 28, is one year older than his UFC featherweight champion brother. The elder Topuria scored all his five professional victories via first-round finishes, choking out his first two opponents and then beating his past three by knockouts.

Topuria (5-1) lost by TKO the sole time his fights stretched past the opening round in MMA, falling short against Ivo Ivanov on the Spanish circuit in 2015. He took a six-year layoff from MMA after that loss before returning with a win over Lucas Tenório in 2021.

Ilia Topuria is currently scheduled to put the UFC featherweight belt on the line in the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, facing Max Holloway on Oct. 26. It will be his first title defense since a shocking knockout over Alexander Volkanovski in February.

Mike Heck contributed to this report.