UFC made a promise to Ilia Topuria, Conor McGregor's presidential bid hits a roadblock, Jon Jones asking for $40-50 million: MMA Rumor Roundup

Ilia Topuria claims the UFC has made a promise to him about the next title shot. Elsewhere, Conor McGregor's chances of becoming Ireland's president look bleak.

Here are this week's top combat sports rumors, compiled by Sportskeeda MMA.

Joe Rogan doesn't think Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria is happening

In the latest Fight Companion episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator said that he doesn't believe Ilia Topuria will get to fight Islam Makhachev on his return to lightweight.

Rogan said:

"I don’t think that’s happening. ... I wonder what they’re gonna do with Topuria. I like [Ilia] Topuria vs [Charles] Oliveira. Oliveira is so tall, so dangerous everywhere, huge reach advantage. Those lightweights are really big, Islam [Makhaachev]’s huge."

Dana White has yet to announce who would be Topuria's opponent. However, according to the former UFC featherweight champion, he has been promised a title shot.

UFC promised Ilia Topuria a title shot

Ilia Topuria shared at the WOW 17 press conference [via: Marca] that the UFC promised him a shot at the lightweight title. He was given the word in return for relinquishing the featherweight belt:

"I'm not entirely sure what my next fight will be. The only thing I'm sure of is the UFC's word that my next fight will be for the world title. ... That was the promise for leaving my title vacant. They've always kept their promises."

Conor McGregor's presidential bid hits a dead end

Conor McGregor wants to become the president of Ireland, for which he would need the backing of at least 20 Oireachtas (parliament) members or four of the country's local authorities.

Sky News reached out to all 234 parliament members - 174 TDs or lower house members and 60 senators - asking if they would give the UFC star a nomination. 134 politicians responded, of which 30 were senators. According to the outlet, every response was a vote against McGregor. None chose the "Maybe" option.

Sky News published the responses, some of which were anonymous. Labour TD Duncan Smith said:

"I could not think of anyone more unfit for public office."

Fine Gael TD Maeve O'Connell answered:

"Conor McGregor's divisive behaviour and rhetoric would be completely unsuitable for such a role."

Jon Jones might be trolling Tom Aspinall

Jones Jones asking for six months to prepare for a fight against Tom Aspinall surprised many, especially since the bout is already long overdue. However, Robert Whittaker believes 'Bones' is simply playing around with the UFC interim heavyweight champion.

He said on the MMAArcade Podcast:

"I think at this point, right now, I can, kind of, see Jon Jones is trolling the hell out of Tom Aspinall. I can see him signing it, doing five months, and then just retiring."

Aspinall sounded optimistic about the fight after his recent meeting with Hunter Campbell in London and asked fans to stay tuned for some big news.

Jon Jones is asking $40-50 million to fight Tom Aspinall

The rumors about what Jon Jones is thinking about the Tom Aspinall fight are aplenty. If Jones is avoiding talking about it for publicity reasons like many are assuming, it is probably working just fine.

Colby Covington, who was Jones' college roommate at Iowa Central Community College, told the Red Hawk Recap podcast:

"Jon [Jones] is ducking; he’s trying to ask for an unreasonable price. You can’t be asking for $40 or $50 million. You don’t draw money to the company like that. I think he’ll end up retiring before he fights [Tom] Aspinall.”

While fans were quick to dismiss Covington, Ariel Helwani said about the rumor of him asking $30 million that it was cheaper than what Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov have made before.

Jamahal Hill out of UFC Kansas City

After losing back-to-back to Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill was supposed to fight Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC Kansas City next month.

@RealKevinK reported on X that Hill was struggling with a leg injury and has withdrawn from the main event fight.

He added that Derrick Lewis was added to the event and will presumably headline the card.

Hill and Rountree Jr. were booked to fight at UFC 303, but it got canceled after Rountree Jr. tested positive for a tainted supplement.