UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has laid out his path to one day, fighting Conor McGregor in ‘the biggest PPV’ event in MMA history.
Whilst Conor McGregor certainly had some harsh words for ‘El Matador’ during a recent livestream, featherweight king Ilia Topuria says that one way or another, he expects ‘something special’ to happen when McGregor finally makes his return against Michael Chandler.
Conor McGregor had some choice words for ‘El Matador’
During a recent Kick livestream with Duelbits, McGregor launched yet another vicious verbal assault against Topuria, calling him a paper champion and predicting that BMF title holder Max Holloway will ‘pick him apart’ when the two eventually come to blows.
“Holloway is too light, too fast, I think Holloway picks him apart if they fight… Topuria for me is a non-champion in my opinion, he might have a strap but it’s a meaningless strap in my opinion as he holds it, I don’t see any attraction to it.”
Whilst McGregor noted that “I don’t get the buzz with him,” the wider sporting world certainly does; with Topuria himself remaining confident that with enough demand from the fanbase, a matchup against ‘Notorious’ is well within his reach.
Topuria expects a sensational finish at UFC 303, one way or another
McGregor will return to action on June 27 to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303, and speaking with Andrew Whitelaw via Sportskeeda MMA Originals, Ilia Topuria shared how he’s expecting ‘something spectacular’ when Notorious steps back into the octagon, albeit that might not be a good thing.
“[Michael] Chandler is a very tough fighter too but I don’t know. Conor [McGregor], he’s something special,” hailed the current featherweight king, adding how “You never know” which McGregor will turn up on June 27.
“When he goes inside the cage, you never know. Maybe you see a knockout in 15 seconds or 10 seconds. Or maybe you see how he broke his leg or how someone knocks him out.”
Whilst Topuria stopped himself from predicting a McGregor finish, he did note that “something you always know is that you’re going to see something spectacular in the fight; something’s going to happen.”
Yet Topuria will undoubtedly be hoping that the ‘something spectacular’ pertains to a devastating knockout for McGregor, as he also laid out the pathway to potentially facing ‘Notorious’ later down the line.
Ilia Topuria lays out path to potentially facing Conor McGregor
Whilst a UFC featherweight title defense against Max Holloway has not yet been confirmed, that fight against ‘Blessed’ is expected to take place in the late-summer or early-fall with UFC 306 at The Sphere reportedly being targeted.
Should Topuria manage to earn a victory over Holloway, especially one that ends in ‘Blessed’ receiving the first KO loss of his career, Topuria believes that a fight with McGregor could be within reach:
“I hope to defend the belt with Max Holloway and then I want a fight with Conor McGregor. If he wins his upcoming fight [against Chandler], that’s the fight I’m looking for – hopefully, that fight’s going to happen.”
Topuria claimed that such a bout would be “the biggest fight in MMA history, the biggest ticketing, biggest pay-per-view, the biggest everything,” before reiterating his desire to headline a stadium show in Spain:
“We going to have like 80,000 people watching the fight in the arena… It’s gonna be in the [Santiago] Bernabeu. When the UFC’s going to arrive in Spain, it’s going to happen [there].”
Topuria later noted that he’s looking to return around September, with UFC 306 at The Sphere set for September 14.