Conor McGregor is presently on an involuntary hiatus, despite desperately wanting to make a comeback. The situation seems so complicated that even his rival, Nate Diaz, stepped in to call for a fight with him. Meanwhile, newly-found featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has also declared his interest in the same. He came to reveal the reason behind his decision to fight the former two-division UFC champion and Hollywood star. He declared that he has nothing but respect for McGregor and all that he has accomplished. ‘The Notorious’ and Topuria have a similar kind of success story where they both dethroned their opponents and expressed their desire to do so.

Topuria expressed her interest in fighting McGregor in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca. He told Daniel Cormier that he would like to fight McGregor in Real Madrid’s home stadium, Santiago Bernabéu. “If it were my decision, I’d fight Conor McGregor. That would be the fight I’d aim for, and that’s what I aim for,” explained Topuria. The ‘El Matador’ defeated Volkanovski in an impressive knockout in the second round of UFC 298, and after that, he stated why he wanted to fight ‘The Notorious’ for his next match.

According to him, McGregor was in the last chapter of his fight, and Topuria wanted to continue the legacy of the UFC. He further added that he thinks that it is time for McGregor’s chapter to get ‘over.’  “He represents a chapter in MMA, and I believe that it is time for that chapter of that season to close and a new one to begin. I don’t think that fighting with him or beating him would be like leaving him in the season behind,” said Topuria.

The fighter’s statement came after Diaz gave a similar opinion, which was in favor of McGregor. These statements emerged after McGregor was grieving the lack of effort from the UFC and Dana White to get a fight date fixed for him. Meanwhile, rumors are circulating that the UFC wants to stick him to a new contract before he gets to complete the two fights on his recent contract and walks away from promotion for more important offers. Topuria might be respectful towards his opponent, but the fans have a completely different opinion about McGregor.

UFC followers harshly give their verdict on the McGregor vs. Topuria fight

McGregor has not fought a single fight since sustaining a leg injury against Dustin Poirier in 2021. His speculated fight with Michael Chandler is being postponed, supposedly by Dana White, and till now, there hasn’t been any news about his comeback. The fans shared their perspectives on McGregor through their comments in the Twitter post. It seemed like they were mentally prepared to close the chapter of ‘The Notorious.’

“When are people going to realize the Conor era is over, he fell off and hasn’t won a fight since pre covid. people got to stop saying Conor’s name he’s a bum.”

“Khabib ended that chapter and Dustin wrote the epilogue. It’s hard enough getting Connor to come back for Chandler.”

Some fans straight up declared that McGregor had moved on to Hollywood and his UFC days were already over in 2021. 

 “Conor hasn’t won a fight in years. Of course, he’s going to win, he wants the legacy of having beaten him, the huge payday, and the clout that comes with him. Conor is a celebrity, not a fighter. His fighter days are long gone. There’s no honor in fighting this version of Conor.”

“Tf is he talking about, the McGregor chapter was closed when he fought Khabib lmao”

There have been comparisons between the Irishman and Topuria in terms of physicality and psyche, and the Spaniard supposedly respects McGregor a lot. However, some followers were against Topuria, stating that he was doing all this to get clout and limelight.

“So basically, he wants to try and gain clout off Conor cos nobody gives af about him”

“Translation: “$$$”

The featherweight champion is eager to defend his title in his home country and has even chosen an opponent. However, only time will tell who his opponent is going to be in the end. Will it be Volkanovski, or will it be McGregor? Will the fans watch the fight if it’s McGregor’s? What is your take on this? Write your comments below.

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