Commander Country

UFC champion rocks Commanders' Jayden Daniels jersey

UFC champion Ilia Topuria dons Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels' jersey for announcement of NFL matchup in Spain.
Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates in the closing seconds of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates in the closing seconds of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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This season, the NFL is hosting its first game from Madrid, Spain, with the Washington Commanders set to take on the Miami Dolphins in Week 11. In a special official trailer for the game, sports worlds collided as UFC and Georgian-Spanish fighter Ilia Topuria donned a Jayden Daniels jersey to promote the inaugural event.

Topuria is well-recognized in the fighting world as well as the countries that he represents. He has a 16-0 record with six TKOs and eight submissions, including two title belt wins in his last two fights - the latest coming against Max Holloway via way of TKO at UFC 308.

Daniels has become a worldwide phenomenon since entering the league a season ago, and it is easy to see why other athletes would gravitate towards a player such as him, especially from another dominant athlete such as Topuria.

Daniels was electric in his rookie season with the Commanders. He was the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year and led Washington to the NFC Championship for the first time in 33 years, where the team lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

The Commanders and Daniels now have a good understanding of some of their marquee matchups for the 2025 season and will soon know their full schedule once it drops Wednesday evening.

While the Commanders gear up for the 2025 season, Topuria is set to face fellow UFC fighter Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 for the lightweight belt after Islam Makhachev vacated the title.


READ MORE: Two Commanders games labeled 'must-watch' by analyst

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 offseason.

Follow Caleb on Twitter.

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Caleb Skinner
CALEB SKINNER

Caleb is from Nashville, TN, and graduated from Florida State University in 2018 with majors in Sociology and History. He has previously written for an FSU outlet and started covering the Buccaneers in March of 2022 while co-hosting the Hear the Cannons podcast. He expanded his role with GamedayMedia by covering the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders in April of 2024. You can follow Caleb on Twitter @chsnole

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