Conor McGregor, the first simultaneous two-division champion in the UFC, has not fought since breaking his leg at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier. He recently announced his comeback fight after three years via social media on the 2024 New Year’s Eve against Michael Chandler.
McGregor made his mark in the UFC in the featherweight division, where Alexander Volkanovski has been reigning supreme for a long time now. Volk will look to defend the title at UFC 298 against the undefeated Ilia Topuria, who aspires to fight McGregor in the future.
Ilia Topuria predicts potential Conor McGregor fight result
Ilia Topuria is brash and outspoken and has backed his words with powerful performances inside the octagon. In a recent interview, Topuria hinted at his interest in fighting Conor McGregor, the sport’s biggest superstar.
Topuria’s thoughts on fighting Mystic Mac revealed his respect for the Irishman as well as his competitive nature. “Conor McGregor is a superstar… if he wins again.. fighting him would be good…,” said Topuria about his interest to fight McGregor.
Ilia Topuria predicts he will knock out Conor McGregor in the first round if they ever fought. 😳👀 pic.twitter.com/4UXgSY7SMQ
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) February 1, 2024
“At what weight’.. I wouldn’t care..’And the prediction.. please,.. first round,” Topuria further added, predicting a first-round knockout for him irrespective of the weight class. The Georgian fighter has knockout victories in both the featherweight and lightweight divisions and has even competed in bantamweight in the past.
McGregor is not the only superstar targeted by Topuria as he also has a beef with bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. O’Malley also has set an eye for Topuria and has stated his willingness to fight the Georgian fighter if he becomes the featherweight champion of the UFC.
McGregor Gave Topuria “Super Bad Vibes”
Just like Topuria, Conor McGregor also has a brash and outspoken persona that has come at odds with many in the UFC. Ilia recently revealed his assessment of McGregor. “Super Bad vibes,” said Topuria of the time when he was near McGregor.
“The feeling I had when he was around was, ‘Keep him away! Keep him away!” Topuria further added. The revelation has added spice to a potential fight that could happen between Topuria and McGregor. However, the Irishman has bulked up in recent years and even announced his comeback fight at middleweight.
The Notorious and Topuria share similarities in trajectory as McGregor became the featherweight champion with a quick knockout of the long-reigning Jose Aldo, and Topuria has a similar opportunity against Alexander Volkanovski. Like Aldo, Volkanosvki is the long-reigning champion of the division and also a potential GOAT of the division.
Topuria has even predicted a first-round KO for him over Volkanovski which was met with a severe response from Volkanovski who plans to shock the world at UFC 298. Volkanovski is coming off a brutal knockout to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, while Topuria came unscathed in his fight with Josh Emmet.
Do you think Conor McGregor will fight Ilia Topuria? Leave your prediction below!
