Celebrity Name: Ilia Topuria (“El Matador”)
Brand Name: Richard Mille
Deal Type: Brand Ambassador — Long-Term Partnership
Announced: March 25, 2026
Impact: First combat sports athlete ever signed by Richard Mille; marks the brand’s historic entry into MMA following a roster built exclusively around F1, tennis, and golf
- Ilia Topuria becomes the first combat sports athlete ever signed by luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, a brand previously exclusive to F1, tennis, and golf stars.
- The partnership was unveiled via a cinematic promo showing Topuria’s journey from a displaced Georgian-Spanish upbringing to UFC double champion.
- Topuria wears the RM 67-02 Automatic Extra-Flat, a 32-gram ultra-thin timepiece Richard Mille describes as mirroring his “quiet precision.”
- The 29-year-old holds a perfect 17-0 record as the first undefeated double champion in UFC history, and is set to headline the historic UFC White House event in June 2026 against Justin Gaethje.
Ilia Topuria has become the first combat sports star ever signed to luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, in a landmark partnership announced on March 25, 2026.
The announcement came via a cinematic promo released by the brand, showing Topuria’s journey from boyhood to world champion, narrated by the fighter himself.
Richard Mille, a brand valued at over $1.5 billion, had previously built its ambassador roster exclusively around Formula One, tennis, and golf athletes, making combat sports long overdue.
Outside the cage, Topuria wears the RM 67-02 Automatic Extra-Flat, a lightweight timepiece whose design mirrors his speed and efficiency. The fighter called it “thin, elegant, mysterious.”
The timing couldn’t be more powerful. Just days before signing, Topuria was announced as the headliner of the historic UFC White House event in June 2026, where he faces Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification fight.
At 29, Topuria holds a perfect 17-0 record and stands as the first undefeated double champion in UFC history, having held both the Featherweight and Lightweight titles simultaneously.
Similar brand-ambassador moves are reshaping athlete marketing across all sports, just as Jalen Milroe recently signed with New Balance as an athlete ambassador and Matthew Stafford was named the first pro football ambassador for Johnnie-O.
Takeaways
This deal is bigger than a watch endorsement, it’s a cultural statement. Richard Mille has spent decades cultivating an ultra-exclusive ambassador program built around athletes who embody precision and discipline at the highest level.
By inviting a UFC champion into that circle for the first time, the brand is essentially saying: combat sports has arrived in the same room as Formula One and Grand Slam tennis.
For Topuria, the timing is masterful. With the most high-profile fight of his career weeks away at the White House, every brand spotlight amplifies his status as the UFC’s biggest current star.
And for combat sports broadly, it signals that the luxury goods world is finally catching up to what MMA fans already know, that fighters like “El Matador” carry crossover appeal that rivals any athlete on the planet.
Does this partnership signal that luxury brands will now actively compete for top UFC talent, similar to how they pursue F1 drivers and tennis stars? Could Topuria’s Richard Mille deal inspire other MMA champions to pursue similarly high-profile luxury endorsements?
