Current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is one of the elite fighters at 145lbs. Not only does he have the skill set, but he also has the confidence to back it up. But it seems not everyone is a fan of his confidence. One such person is Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t quite like the way Topuria spoke before his fight with Max Holloway.

Championship Rounds shared a video where Ronaldo looked a bit disappointed with ‘El Matador.’ However, the champion seemed to have an answer to the questions raised by the soccer star. Let us take a look at what he had to say.

Ilia Topuria responds to the claims made by Cristiano Ronaldo before his UFC 308 fight

Before his UFC 308 fight, Ilia Topuria claimed that he would be the first one to “break” Max Holloway’s granite chin and he did just that. ‘El Matador’ has now responded to the claims made by the Portuguese legend via his X account. He tweeted, “I didn’t expect someone like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance. But, at the end of the day, we all reflect our own reality onto others. I wish you the best for what remains of your career, and God bless your family.” 

In most of his interviews, Ilia Topuria oozed loads of confidence, and his run in the UFC is a testament to that. The 27-year-old is unbeaten in his UFC career and has defeated some of the legends of the sport. Just for the record, Max Holloway faced some of the elite strikers in the division before he took on Topuria. However, the former champion was not able to handle the pressure of the champion and was knocked out for the first time in his career.

After the fight, ‘El Matador’ showed a lot of respect for his opponent and praised him during the post-fight interview. Currently, the featherweight champion is waiting for his next title defense. However, despite such a dominating performance, Topuria’s coach, Jorge Climent, feels there were few changes that the champion could have made in his fight. During a recent conversation on ‘The Submission Radio,’ he pointed out what Topuria could have done differently in the fight.

Ilia Topuria could have used more of his wrestling against Max Holloway feels coach Climent

Current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria once again reminded the world why he is the gold standard at 145lbs. The Spanish-Georgian did the unthinkable when he knocked out ‘Blessed’ in the third round. However, his coach had predicted that the fight would have ended in the second round itself. During a recent conversation with ‘Submission Radio’ he said, “When someone asked me before, I tell that I think he’s going to beat [Holloway] in the second, and I think he’s going to cut with the left and ending [with] ground and pound with the right,”. 

Coach Climent also pointed out the only change he wanted to see in the fight was to see more wrestling. Topuria is one of those rare fighters who has a very good ground game but he didn’t employ it much in his outing against the Hawaiian legend. He only showcased his takedown prowess in the later stages of the first round. This is what prompted his coach to say, “But it was in the third round… The real thing is I wanted he do it like with a little more wrestling for make him tired, you know, and end with a tick out and finish with ground and pound,”. It will now be interesting to see who the champion will be facing next in his career.

How highly do you rate Ilia Topuria as a fighter? Do you think he is the best overall combatant in the division? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.