Topuria Open To Fighting McGregor – ‘That Would Be Great’
Ilia Topuria is not opposed to a Conor McGregor fight.
Topuria is the former UFC Featherweight Champion who stopped Max Holloway in his last fight. He recently moved up to lightweight in the hope of securing a fight with the UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. This is with a view to securing a belt in a second weight class. Topuria is facing criticism for wanting this fight immediately since he has not had a bout at lightweight.
There are other contenders in the division, such as Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett and Charles Oliveira, who also are in contention to secure that bout. Gaethje is coming off a win against Rafael Fiziev in their rematch at UFC 313. Meanwhile, Pimblett has secured his best win against Michael Chandler at UFC 314, while Chandler also beat Chandler at UFC 309. If the Islam fight does not present itself, Topuria is not against a McGregor fight.
Topuria On McGregor
“I think he’s going to come back. If they give the opportunity to guys at, what, 40 years old like [Andrei] Arlovski, you can have so many names who fight at 40 years old. Why not Conor? … Actually, we had the talks [about a fight]. I don’t know. I do this one, then I’m going to get some calls. You know how the UFC is: They are very specific, ‘Don’t say anything to no one.’
“But if they offer me a fight against Conor right now, I’ll say why not? Why not? I wouldn’t say no. … That would be a great one. … [If he had a full fight camp], it would depend on who he would face [in return fight], because if you put him against me, he needs to die and be born again,” Topuria said
There is a history of a feud between McGregor and Topuria. Topuria infamously said that if he ever ran into McGregor there could be a funeral. The Notorious has also publicly said he would slap his nose. However, a fight all depends on whether McGregor makes a return to the sport. The former two-weight UFC champion has been inactive since suffering a broken leg in his 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264—his third defeat in four fights.
Rogan Reacts
Since then, McGregor has been seen partying, drinking, and smoking during his layoff. He was scheduled to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 but pulled out due to a broken toe. McGregor was also found liable in a civil lawsuit over sexual assault allegations, while the Irishman has also hinted that his future is in politics after saying he will run for the Irish Presidency. Rogan felt McGregor would have returned by now if he wanted to.
“I don’t think he comes back, because he hasn’t come back yet, and he could have. If he really wanted to, he would have been back in the gym, had a fight scheduled, drug tested, clean, training, gone through a camp, and had a fight. He had a broken toe before his fight against Chandler.
“I understand that. OK, why should you fight with a broken toe? Also partying, constant partying, all these legal problems that he has, scooting around on yachts, and driving around in a Lamborghini. He’s wealthy. What’s really sad is if he comes back when he’s like 39 or 40 and his body just doesn’t have it anymore,” Rogan said
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