Ilia Topuria has reached the pinnacle of sport in Spain, as the late Héctor del Mar said, “with a clean sweep.” The Hispanic-Georgian fighter, who has lived in Alicante since he was 15, made history on February 17 in Anaheim, California, by becoming the first Spanish UFC world champion. His victory in the MMA cage against Australian Alexander Volkanovski has given him a name in history and the featherweight belt.
This past weekend, Topuria returned to the country and has been receiving a real shower of crowds. From the kick-off in the Real Madrid-Sevilla match played at the Santiago Bernabéu, to a fun reception with the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, where he gave him his gloves and made a joke about Conor McGregor. The Irishman has precisely been one of the topics of conversation that the Matador has had in El Hormiguero with Pablo Motos.
Topuria's style when speaking towards his rivals is well known among MMA followers: with superiority and playing into the public's hands. A role that has reminded many of McGregor, who in the middle of the last decade became the most talked about fighter in the world due to his forcefulness inside and outside the cage. That is why, after winning the title at UFC 298, the man from Alicante challenged the Irishman to a fight in Spain.
Topuria discussed with Motos his desire to fight McGregor at the Santiago Bernabéu, highlighting the large number of agreements that have to be reached after declaring his challenge. Despite this, the Matador left a veiled nod to his desired rival, saying that in his place he would not appear in the fight. The presenter wanted Topuria to send a message to the fighter, but the man from Alicante refused, claiming not to want McGregor to have nightmares.
“He doesn't want to fight, he wants to have children,” he said, after the original reply that the former double category champion left on his Instagram profile: “I have huge balls, I have four children.” However, complications for a fight with Conor McGregor have been present since he was injured in 2021 against Dustin Poirier. In addition, there is another obstacle in the way that would delay that possible dream fight: Michael Chandler.
On New Year's Day, McGregor announced that he would face the American on June 29 in Las Vegas. However, the head of the UFC, Dana White, assured that the main problem in the making is money. The Irishman is a multimillionaire and reaching an economic agreement with him would be complicated. For his part, Chandler wanted to rekindle the fight by sending a message a few weeks ago on RAW, one of WWE's wrestling programs.
