UFC featherweight king Ilia Topuria is once again using MMA math to say no a potential fight. But this time it’s against someone he himself had called out; the ‘Notorious’ Conor McGregor.
Topuria who rose to the occasion, dismantling former champ, Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 previously had called out the former double champ but now is unenthusiastic to face an “already very weak” McGregor.
Speaking to Marca in an exclusive, the ‘Matador’ got candid and revealed why he is no longer pumped to face the Irishman in the octagon.
Saying that McGregor had already lost and was very ‘bad at everything’, the Spaniard dissed his confidence and chided him for using excuses to not get into the octagon.
” He had confidence in his preparation, in how he prepared himself, in all the effort he put into his preparation and in his improvement. He has lost confidence in himself, in his abilities, in everything… and he uses any excuse not to get into the octagon.“
Adding further fuel to the fire, the champion also stated that the former double champion was ‘finished’ in the sport.
“I don’t know, the truth is, he’s finished.”
Ilia Topuria isn't interested in a Conor McGregor fight anymore:
"[Conor] he's already lost. He's already very weak… he no longer has the self-confidence like he had before…
He had confidence in his preparation… all the effort he put into his preparation and improvement.… pic.twitter.com/tDqXTase46
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 4, 2024
But now that he’s basically put the already debatable McGregor fight in the bin, does Topuria now look to the land down under and grant Alexander Volkanovski his well-deserved rematch?
‘Volk’ needs attention, claims Topuria
Earlier this year, the world witnessed the Spaniard’s might when he KO’d ‘The Great’ Volkanovski within four minutes of round 2.
The 27-year-old did what he said would do, destroy the veteran champion and take this throne in stunning fashion. The only other fighter to have knocked out Volk at the time was lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
However, following the title win, Topuria hasn’t defended it even once. Awaiting his baby girl, he is with his family but when asked about the Aussie and his call outs, the Spaniard said that ‘Volk’ was a world champion who was ‘frustrated’ and and was spending his time giving interviews to tabloids.
“What I know is that he is a former world champion, who is frustrated, who is devoting himself to the tabloids and has nothing else. If he doesn’t talk about me, they do not pay any attention to him, so he has to talk about me.”
Moreover, he refuted the ducking claims saying that he offered the former champ the rematch but Volkanovski was KO’d and needed time to get back in the octagon.
During the same interview, he also mentioned the timeline of his UFC return, expressing his readiness once the promotion schedules a fight for him.
So will Volk get the fight? Seems positive at the moment. So hopefully it comes to pass.
