"Clean out the division and defend the tittle" - Former UFC champ disagrees with Ilia Topuria's future fight plans
Newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria outlined his plans in a press conference held in his home country of Spain.
Topuria wanted a fight with one of three fighters: Conor McGregor, former featherweight champion Max Holloway, or bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley. He also wanted to face them in Spain, where the UFC is set to debut this year.
His press conference address was transcribed by Eurosport with all his demands, including a lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev.
"The three rivals that I would most like in the next fight are Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, or Sean O'Malley. I want to fight again before the end of the year, and then the next target would be Islam Makhachev.
"That fight would be the one that would bring me closest to number one in the pound-for-pound ranking. I see myself as a double champion." [translation via Google Translate]
Former two-time bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz had some advice for Topuria in the comments of an Instagram post from ESPN. Cruz said that champions should first defend the title within their division and clear out all potential contenders before moving to another division.
"champions—>Clean out the division and defend the tittle [title]" Cruz commented.
True to his advice, Cruz has only ever fought in the bantamweight division throughout his UFC career. He successfully defended his title three times across his two championship reigns.
Yair Rodriguez sounds off on Ilia Topuria: "I want to f**k him up"
Former interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez expressed his dislike for the newest undisputed champion of the division, Ilia Topuria.
In a recent press conference, Rodriguez was asked his thoughts on Topuria and responded fiercely. He was keen on taking on 'El Matador.'
“I would love to f**k him [Topuria] up. I don’t wanna fight him I want to f**k him up. There’s a f*****g big difference on that. Just to make that clear. Anywhere I f*****g see him I’ll f**k him up. F**k this b*tch. I don’t f*****g like him,” Rodriguez said.
Last year, Rodriguez faced former champion Volkanovski in a title-unification match but lost. Meanwhile, Topuria did not include the Mexican on his list of possible opponents.
Check out Yair Rodriguez's comments on Ilia Topuria below: