Ilia Topuria has an enormous combat forward of him, however he nonetheless has time for a few facet feuds.
Forward of his first featherweight title protection in opposition to Max Holloway at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, Topuria has discovered himself embroiled in verbal beefs with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and now, former two-division champion Conor McGregor.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Topuria criticized Holloway for shedding to McGregor in 2013, properly earlier than the 2 stars entered their primes. McGregor responded on social media, praising Holloway and warning Topuria that he might lose his title subsequent Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
“Nah, [Holloway is] the actual deal,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “At all times was, at all times is. … One thousand p.c he turned method higher after shedding to me. He really turned an all-time nice fighter after shedding to me. This can be a stellar combat, people! He took strikes as properly with him. He turned ambidextrous after preventing me. He can combat in each stances now pretty much as good as one another.
“He can be very exhausting to catch for the little man. Don’t stroll right into a crushing blow, bro. He’s robust, too. And really skilled. A hundred percent! Large combat really feel for me right here, people! Oh sure, let’s go!”
Topuria didn’t take kindly to McGregor’s response and whereas he agreed Holloway has improved since that long-ago combat, he believes it was because of Holloway being ashamed to lose to a fighter of McGregor’s high quality.
“One thousand p.c Max has improved after preventing you,” Topuria wrote. “He will need to have realized that if he needed to make a dwelling from this, he couldn’t be so unhealthy as to lose to somebody such as you. These days, he beats you simply.
“Dustin [Poirier] knocked you out within the rematches, Nate [Diaz] beat you two instances, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] humiliated you, and Floyd [Mayweather Jr.] gave you a grasp class in boxing at 50 years outdated. Sit down, child. You’re a faux fighter.”
The fighters continued to commerce insults on social media, although each later deleted their feedback.
Topuria should deal with the duty at hand with UFC 308 combat week simply across the nook. He meets Holloway, a former UFC featherweight champion and the present “BMF” champion within the Oct. 26 important occasion.
