Is there a future for Conor McGregor in today’s UFC? Joe Rogan and Ilia Topuria question Irishman’s fading discipline
Joe Rogan and Ilia Topuria talked about Conor McGregor's future in the UFC. McGregor is nearing the fourth anniversary of his last UFC fight, a first-round TKO loss (doctor's stoppage) against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Fans have since questioned if 'The Notorious' will ever fight again.
Topuria, a former UFC featherweight champion moving up to lightweight, recently made an appearance on Rogan's 'JRE MMA Show.'
One of the many topics they discussed was Conor McGregor, with Joe Rogan saying this about the former two-division UFC champion:
"He should be fighting, and he should be fighting while he can because you don't want to be 49 years old sitting back thinking if you could have just won more, could have got it together if I just stopped partying."
Topuria responded by saying:
"I really think that he's going to come back at some point, but we'll see."
Rogan followed up by claiming McGregor's injury suffered in his last fight against Poirier could prevent him from returning:
"There's also the problem with that shin. When a shin snaps like that, nobody really comes back from that and fights."
Topuria claimed that McGregor's body is "paying the price" due to his partying habits:
"His body is f*cked, his toe is f*cked, his chin is f*cked, his body is f*cked. With that much parties and drugs and all that, you're going to have to pay that price at some point, and you are paying the price with your health, which is the dumbest thing you can do in your entire life."
Watch Joe Rogan and Ilia Topuria discuss Conor McGregor's future in the UFC at 1:18:48 below:
Ilia Topuria reveals he talked to UFC about potential fight against Conor McGregor
Ilia Topuria announced his move up to lightweight with intentions to immediately challenge pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev. During the previously mentioned podcast episode, Joe Rogan asked Topuria if he'd be willing to fight Conor McGregor first, leading to this response:
"Right now? No... Do you think it's gonna be exciting if I beat Islam [Makhachev] and then I give the chance to Conor [McGregor]?... Actually, we had that talk a little bit [about a McGregor fight], but yeah, I don't know." [1:06:01-1:06:45]
Ilia Topuria made history in 2024 by knocking out Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski in featherweight title fights. The 28-year-old holds a professional MMA record of 16-0, including eight UFC wins.