"If you still have some b*lls" - Watch Ilia Topuria call out Conor McGregor, Ian Garry challenge Colby Covington, and other wild UFC 298 callouts
The recent UFC 298 event changed the course of many divisions, most notable being the featherweight division that saw the crowing of a new champion in Ilia Topuria. The event featured prospects and contenders at different trajectories, who laid out their plans for the future after scoring wins.
Newly crowned UFC featherweight champion Topuria has shown interest in fighting Conor McGregor. The Spaniard delivered an impressive knockout victory to end Alexander Volkanovski’s title reign in the UFC 298 main event.
Topuria utilized the time on the mic to reiterate his desire to face the Irishman. While calling for a UFC event in Spain during the octagon interview, the 145-pound champion said:
“Hey Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell], it’s showtime. It’s time to take the UFC to Spain. Conor McGregor, if you still have some b*lls, I will be waiting for you in Spain.”
Watch Topuria’s full octagon interview below (2:38):
In the co-main event, Robert Whittaker got back in the win column with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa. Whittaker suffered his first non-title fight defeat in a decade when he was knocked out by Drcus du Plessis at UFC 290.
Many believed that a potential loss against Costa would probably end Whittaker's title aspirations in the division. However, the former champion successfully re-inserted his name in the title picture with the UFC 298 victory.
‘The Reaper’ is intent on avenging the loss and recapturing the UFC middleweight title by defeating Du Plessis. He said in the octagon interview:
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to come here and perform, especially after my last fight, and I did exactly that. I am looking to make amends with Dricus [du Plessis] and I’m not going anywhere baby, I’m back!”
Watch Whittaker call out Du Plessis below (1:35):
UFC 298 callouts: Merab Dvalishvili wants to fight for the title next, Ian Garry wants to send former interim champion into retirement
No.10-ranked welterweight Ian Garry scored the biggest win of his fighting career against Geoff Neal on the undercard. The Irishman was quick to reignite the rivalry with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington in the octagon interview.
Covington suffered the third title fight loss of his career against reigning champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296. He is one of the bigger names in the division and a win over him could catapult Garry into the higher echelons of the division.
The 26-year-old called Covington out and said:
“There is one guy I want next and I’ve been saying his name all week. Hunter [Campbell], you know what I want. His name is Colby [Chaos] Covington. That guy’s on a three-fight skid against world champions and I want to retire you from the UFC, Colby! Anywhere, anytime! McGregor and Chandler co-main, I’m in. But you ain’t ready to deal with this speed, you ain’t ready to deal with the undefeated prospects. I’m going to take you out, I’m going to make you regret everything you’ve ever said.”
Watch Garry call out Colby Covington below (1:45):
With a win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298, Merab Dvalishvili became a frontrunner to challenge the winner of the upcoming UFC 299 bantamweight title fight between champion Sean O’Malley and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
‘The Machine’ has called O’Malley out on several occasions in the past but getting the 135-pound title is his goal and he wants to take on whoever has the title after March 9. He said:
“Where is the champion? Bring him here, right now! Bring me that guy.”
He added:
“Whoever will be champion, I’m going to face him next. I’m just going to fight. I’ve been calling Sean O'Malley out since 2018. But now, Whoever will be champion… I don’t care. I just love fighting. My only goal is the title now.”
Watch Dvalishvili’s full octagon interview below (2:09):
Light heavyweight prospect Zhang Mingyang made his UFC debut with a quick knockout win over Brandson Ribeiro on the prelims. While he might need to add a few more victories to his record to get a shot at the title, ‘Mountain Tiger’ offered to fill in the UFC 300 co-main event spot and fight champion Alex Pereira. He said (via translator):
“Seems there is still no co-main event for UFC 300. The champ, Alex Pereira, if you watch this fight and be interested in me, call me! I can make championship weight.”
Watch Mingyang call out Pereira below (2:50):