Ilia Topuria called out Conor McGregor for a fight following his victory over reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Topuria, representing Spain and Georgia, wants McGregor in Spain for the first UFC PPV in the country. McGregor won the featherweight belt back in 2015 and eventually the lightweight title the following year. However, he hasn’t fought at either weight in years and hasn’t been int he UFC octagon since July 10, 2021.
That didn’t stop Topuria from calling out his dream fight.
“Conor McGregor, if you still have some balls, I will be waiting for you in Spain,” Topuria said on the mic with Joe Rogan during the PPV broadcast.
McGregor, since last year, has been slated to fight lightweight contender Michael Chandler following the two going head to head as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.
Whether that fight happens at 155, 170 or heck, even 185 is to-be-determined. In fact, it seems like no progress has been made on McGregor-Chandler while the Irishman tries to return from a broken leg.
Topuria, who is the new champion, didn’t specify he’d fight McGregor at 145. The latter hasn’t fought that small since 2015.
UFC president Dana White was asked after UFC 298 if McGregor’s return was closer to happening and why there’s been a serious delay.
“Well, first problem [regarding the delay] was he broke that shin bone,” White told reporters at the UFC 298 post-fight press conference. “He was recovering from that. That was one of the reasons we hadn’t [announced his next fight]. The other problem is, he’s (expletive) rich.”
White is always open to getting McGregor back in the octagon, although he didn’t necessarily comment on him fighting Topuria.
“Anytime we get Conor, we’ll be thrilled when he comes back and fights,” White said. “But, money complicates a lot of things. He just filmed a movie. He’s gotta do the press for the movie and he’s got obligations with that. And, he does want to fight this year, but we’ll see what happens.”
ESPN MMA put out some interesting comparisons on the rise of Topuria and McGregor, when the latter ascended to the 145 pound belt. Both were the age of 27, 7-0 in the UFC and on a 15-fight win streak.
Heck, it didn’t stop there. Topuria stole Volkanovski’s belt during the press conference like McGregor did with Jose Aldo.
Topuria has a bevy of challengers, especially if he can headline a card in Spain. There is the potential of a rematch with Volkanovski, who was handed his first loss at 145 pounds by Topuria.
Not to mention, former champion Max Holloway is also an option. Holloway lost three times to Volkanovski and was seemingly shut out of the featherweight title picture. But for now, Holloway has a fight at 155 with “BMF” title holder Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
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