Conor McGregor has yet to make his UFC return, which he promised earlier this year. The constant delay in the bout has reduced the degree of excitement among fight spectators. It has harmed his demand, as more fighters cancel their commitments to fight McGregor. The current UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, recently expressed a similar opinion.
Ilia Topuria’s rise to UFC superstar status was rather quick. He showed his dominance by knocking out former pound-for-pound ace Alexander Volkanovski and taking his belt. After the fight, Topuria called out Conor McGregor for a potential fight. However, now the dynamics have changed, and Topuria has revealed that he doesn’t want to fight an alcoholic McGregor.
I’m telling you that if they offered me a fight with him, I’d say no because there are bigger fights than him…He’s not the McGregor that moved the masses. He’s a McGregor who represents alcohol and drugs more than sport.
Ilia Topuria via Ibai Lanos
McGregor is the biggest draw, and everyone has called him out to face him in his comeback bout. However, his main rival, Michael Chandler, recently opted to move on due to McGregor’s untrustworthy promises. Similarly, Charles Oliveira also prefers a championship run over the McGregor fight, which he desperately wanted earlier.
Ilia Topuria says he would turn down a fight against Conor McGregor if it was offered to him:
“I’m telling you that if they offered me a fight with [McGregor], I’d say no because there are bigger fights than him…
He’s not the McGregor that moved the masses. He’s a McGregor… pic.twitter.com/cRhjBLfG31
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 26, 2024
Though there will always be someone to fight McGregor, the recent trend of elite fighters rejecting him is somewhat alarming. As Joe Rogan previously stated, the longer the delay, the more difficult McGregor’s comeback will be. All of the issues and theatrics surrounding McGregor appear to have finally discouraged fighters who had hoped to fight.
Conor McGregor’s negative energy explained by Ilia Topuria
From trash-talking and tattoos to knockout ability, similarities between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor were quite evident. Many accused the Georgian-Spaniard of copying prime McGregor. Topuria has always been a big fan of Conor McGregor and took inspiration from the Irishman as a kid.
Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor (via X)However, after his callout, McGregor slammed the featherweight champion in a live stream, which caught a lot of attention. In an interview, Topuria opened up about how his perspective on McGregor changed. Despite respecting his achievements, Topuria didn’t like McGregor’s personality.
Just a terrible energy. I swear I felt that his aura his from hell. I wanted to be away from this dude. He has a black energy, I never felt that before.
Ilia Topuria via The Wild Project #197
Topuria is presently scheduled to face Max Holloway in one of the most anticipated fights at UFC 308. Given both fighters’ recent performances, the buzz surrounding the bout is enormous. The animosity between the two has already heated up, and fans are anticipating an exciting fight.
