"It’s stupid to hate him" - Ilia Topuria shows admiration and respect for Conor McGregor while also seeking fight against him
Ilia Topuria recently heaped praise for Conor McGregor and what he accomplished during his career, but noted that he would still like to share the octagon with him in the future.
The reigning UFC featherweight champion's surge to superstardom is somewhat similar to the Irishman as he didn't shy away from expressing his confidence when predicting that he would dethrone Alexander Volkanovski. 'The Notorious' did the same during the buildup for his title fight against Jose Aldo, who was the long-reigning featherweight champion at the time.
While speaking to Spanish outlet Marca, Topuria brought up that the hate McGregor receives due to decisions he has made in his personal life rather than his career accomplishments is unnecessary. He mentioned that he holds the former two-division champion in high regard for what he achieved in the sport. He said:
"I really have a lot of admiration for [Conor McGregor] and a lot of respect for everything he did in the sport. It's stupid to hate him. After everything he did in his personal life and all the achievements he had. I don't like to judge people without knowing them. But he's an icon in the sport." [Translation]
It will be interesting to see whether a potential bout against Topuria would excite McGregor, especially if his star power continues to grow.
How old were Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor when they became undisputed UFC champion?
Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor share a lot more similarities than fans think.
Both fighters surged up the featherweight rankings fairly quickly and became undisputed champions by dethroning dominant champions via knockout. When McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in their featherweight title unification bout, he was 27-years-old, with an MMA record of 19-2.
Topuria, on the other hand, also became undisputed UFC featherweight champion at 27-years-old, but his knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski improved his MMA record to 15-0.