"I'd beat him in his prime" - Ilia Topuria fires shots at Conor McGregor, claims he's always been flawed
Ilia Topuria last competed in February when he defeated Alexander Volkanovski via second-round knockout at UFC 298. The featherweight champion will look to defend his title for the first time against Max Holloway at UFC 308 later this month. 'El Matador' has found himself engaged in a war of words with a different former 145-pound UFC champion, as he has publicly gone back and forth with Conor McGregor.
He recently claimed that he would defeat 'The Notorious' even if the former double champ was in his prime. Championship Rounds shared Topuria's comments from a recent Instagram Live, tweeting:
"Ilia Topuria says he'd beat Conor McGregor in his prime: "MMA has evolved. He was really good in the stand-up, but on the ground he was always terrible. I'd beat him in his prime, at any time... wherever, whenever, it's not a competition. Let him keep drinking whiskey." (via. IG Live) #UFC #MMA #UFC308"
Check out the tweet from Championship Rounds below:
After capturing the featherweight title, Topuria used his octagon interview to call out McGregor to clash in Spain. While the pair have taken shots at each other in the time since, they seem unlikely to share the octagon. 'The Notorious' said his highly-anticipated return to the octagon will likely be at welterweight.
Conor McGregor takes shots at Ilia Topuria
Conor McGregor became a part-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in April. 'The Notorious' was on hand for the promotion's event in Spain this weekend, where he fired shots at Ilia Topuria.
The former UFC double champ claimed the featherweight champion is not from Spain while sharing his support for Max Holloway to dethrone 'El Matador' in their upcoming clash. Speaking to Jamal Niaz, McGregor claimed:
"F**k him. F**k him. This isn't his home country. This is my home country, baby. Marbella, Spain, where's he at? This ain't his home country. He knows where his home country is and it's not Espana. So, good luck Max Holloway, f**k him up."
Check out Conor McGregor's comments on Ilia Topuria below:
McGregor has some history with Holloway as he defeated 'Blessed' via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 26 all the way back in 2013. While both fighters have briefly expressed interest in clashing for the latter's 'BMF' title, the No.2-ranked featherweight will first look to join Jose Aldo as the only fighters to claim the 145-pound belt twice.