Ilia Topuria has reignited his beef with Cristiano Ronaldo, picking Lionel Messi over the Portuguese star. During an interview with El Partidazo de COPE, the lifelong Real Madrid fan ditched CR7 a few months after the soccer star accused him of talking too much.
Topuria, who was seen with Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos during his fight with Max Holloway, claimed that he would be inviting the man who completed soccer to a UFC event next.
“The person I’m going to personally invite is Messi because he lives in Miami. So f*ck Cristiano as long as Messi exists”
Ilia Topuria is RUTHLESS
Ilia: “F#ck Cristiano as long as Messi exists”
Presenter: “I didn’t see this one coming, Ilia”
Ilia: “Volkanovski and Holloway didn’t see it coming either”
@partidazocope pic.twitter.com/dixly8nteU
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 10, 2024
The tension between the two started during UFC 298 when Ronaldo was in Francis Ngannou’s locker room watching Topuria’s fight against Holloway. Ronaldo predicted a Holloway win. He didn’t hold back on his feelings about ‘El Matador’ either, claiming that the featherweight champion had an attitude.
Topuria didn’t take kindly to those comments and clapped back at Ronaldo shortly after the event.
“I didn’t expect someone like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance. But, at the end of the day, we all reflect our own reality onto others. I wish you the best for what remains of your career, and God bless your family.”
Now, this latest jab has made things even spicier. What’s most surprising is that Topuria likely grew up idolizing Ronaldo during his legendary run at Santiago Bernabeu. It’s a fan-turned-foe situation that seems almost unthinkable, but here we are.
He won’t spend too much of his time and energy on CR7 though, as he has other priorities at the moment, like making a permanent move to lightweight and fight Charles Oliveira next.
Topuria wants to fight Oliveira
During the same interview, Topuria dropped another bombshell, announcing that his time in the featherweight division was officially over. The undefeated champ revealed his plans to move up to lightweight and outlined his ideal timeline and opponent for his 155-pound debut.
Topuria expressed a desire to fight in April or May 2024, aligning with the UFC’s expected Miami card. His target? None other than former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
“Since Islam is going to fight in January and he is not going to be ready for April/May, I would like to fight the #1 contender which is Charles Oliveira.”
Ilia Topuria wants to return in April/May and fight Charles Oliveira at lightweight
“Since Islam is going to fight in January and he is not going to be ready for April/May, I would like to fight the #1 contender which is Charles Oliveira.”
(via. @partidazocope) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/A485Tx1eZe
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 9, 2024
It’s a bold move from “El Matador,” who is clearly looking to make an immediate impact in one of the UFC’s most competitive divisions. As exciting as this would be, fans aren’t too keen on watching him KO another one of their favorites.
Topuria has already laid out Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski before. If he manages to do the same to Oliveira, they believe he will have reached the ultimate villain status.
This man compared him to WWE superstar Randy Orton’s ‘Legend Killer’ gimmick and said, “Illia Topuria really is 2009 Bald Evil Randy Orton up to this day never seen a mf so evil killing legend after legend“. Another fan simply acknowledged the path Topuria was on and said, “Ilia Topuria is aiming to become the ultimate super villain if he is really aiming to fight Charles Oliveira. The killer of the fan favourites“.
Regardless of what transpires when this fight actualizes, one thing is for certain- Topuria at 155 lbs is going to be a menace, and probably the first real maverick to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title.
