‘We Have Lost An Idol’

Ilia Topuria is no longer interested in a fight with Conor McGregor.

Even before his second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in February to claim the UFC featherweight title, ‘El Matador’ called for a clash with the former two-division champion. Weeks away from his first defense of the 145-pound crown in Abu Dhabi, Topuria says he’s now no longer interested.

“I wouldn’t like to fight [Conor] McGregor,” Topuria told Ibai when asked about a potential showdown with the Irish megastar. “I mean, McGregor would be an option if I could fight him. But right now, I’m telling you that if they offered me a fight with him, I’d say, ‘No’, because there are bigger fights than him.”

Topuria elaborated on his reasoning, suggesting that McGregor is no longer the man he once was and has “betrayed the values” that helped him rise to prominence in the world of mixed martial arts.

“I know he is not what he was,” Topuria added. “He’s not the McGregor who moved the masses. I have been inspired by Conor, I admired him when I was little. And he has lost it because he has betrayed the values that have brought him [to the top]. We have lost an idol.”

Ilia Topuria Says he’s on ‘another level’ than conor McGregor

Not long after Topuria’s win over ‘The Great’ at UFC 298, McGregor made some disparaging remarks about ‘El Matador’ during a live-streamed Q&A via Duelbits.

“I don’t give a f*ck about him either. He reminds me of a little retarded Artem Lobov, Topuria does. Two little retards,” McGregor said before adding, “Topuria, for me, is a non-champion in my opinion. He might have a strap, but it’s a meaningless strap, in my opinion, as he holds it. I don’t see any attraction to it.”

Despite the disrespectful comments, Topuria knows deep down McGregor respects him as a fighter, whether he’ll admit it or not.

“So, the statements he has made about me, does he respect me as a fighter? — 100% he respects me as a fighter, and he knows that I am on another level compared to him. But he will never want to acknowledge it and say it publically, because he’s not that type of person” (h/t Bloody Elbow).