Aleksandre Topuria made his younger brother Ilia Topuria proud on Saturday with a shutout performance over Colby Thicknesse to get a debut win in his octagon debut at UFC 312.

The elder Topuria, who hadn’t fought in nearly two years, knocked off the ring rust with a solid all around performance that included some slick, powerful boxing and even a great wrestling game to keep Thicknesse guessing at every turn. When the fight ended, Topuria knew he earned the victory with the judges all scoring the fight 30-27 in his favor to get the nod.

“I was thinking that sometimes what we are thinking and the reality that we want, it’s not like that,” Topuria said after his win. “Colby showed me a great fight, he’s a great rival. I think this guy deserves a UFC contract.

“I am a mixed martial arts fighter. I am not a boxer. You have to be able to be prepared for any scenario. I’m ready for every scenario.”

There was a lot of movement early from Thicknesse as he moved around the outside and worked to unleash his kicks with Topuria in constant pursuit. It looked like Topuria was trying to find an opening for a single big shot and that came with less than two minutes left in the opening round.

Topuria unleashed a huge right hand that cracked Thicknesse and wobbled him badly. Topuria went for the kill but didn’t overexert himself as Thicknesse was able to survive and get back to his feet.

Just before the first round ended, Topuria even managed a huge suplex as he brought Thicknesse crashing to the canvas to showcase he’s got wrestling to go along with his powerful hands.

Following a one-minute rest period, Thicknesse came out with even more activity trying to outwork Topuria, who wasn’t displaying nearly as much offense. While Thicknesse wasn’t doing a lot of damage, he was staying much busier with Topuria still walking him down.

As the fight moved into the final round, Thicknesse attempted a takedown but he was countered quickly by Topuria, who reversed positions on him before the bantamweights reset in the center of the cage. Thicknesses did manage to stab at Topuria with a well-timed straight punch just after the fight got back to the feet but then he made an ill advised takedown attempt that was immediately stuffed.

From there, Topuria muscled his way on top where he continuously peppered away with punches until the final horn sounded to end the fight.

While there was nothing but respect between the two teams, Topuria’s win added a little extra fuel to the family rivalry as Thicknesse was cornered by his longtime friend and teammate Alexander Volkanovski, who lost his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria in 2024.

Now the older Topuria brother can enjoy the fruits of his labor with his win on Saturday as he moves to 7-1 overall before he undoubtedly shifts his attention back to Ilia’s next fight as he prepares to defend his belt later this year.