However, his plans were dashed when Whittaker lost by submission to Chimaev, and Topuria delivered a spectacular knockout against Holloway, sending him to the shadow realm in the third round of the headline event. As a result, Irishman’s dreams were crushed, suffering an estimated loss of around $17 million.

Well, it’s not strictly a loss for him since all these are promotional bets for ‘Duelbits,’ but the Irishman was not happy with the performance from ‘The Reaper’ and made that known. What about Topuria’s contribution to the situation? Will Conor McGregor challenge for his former title? It looks like ‘Mystic Mac’ is gearing up for a showdown.

Conor McGregor Issues Challenge to “Little” Ilia Topuria

As soon as Ilia Topuria defended his title for the first time against former champion Max Holloway at UFC 308, Conor McGregor, already irritated by Topuria’s recent remarks about him, grew even more frustrated after losing his $500,000 bet. ‘Mystic Mac’ wasted no time in cryptically calling out Ilia Topuria in a short tweet, saying, “Call me.” However, McGregor did not stop there; he further tweeted about Topuria, stating, “Good fighter, too small for anything substantial, IMO. He was getting chewed up there.”

Well, McGregor is not off the mark here. The Spaniard was getting clipped by Max Holloway during the fight. Since it was an all-striking affair for the most part, both fighters were going for each other’s heads. Holloway, however, was settling into his rhythm, throwing more volume as he usually does and finding a home for his jab often. That was until Topuria shut his lights out.

Once on good terms, Conor McGregor and Ilia Topuria are no longer seeing eye to eye, as Topuria has dismissed the idea of fighting his former idol while speaking on the El Reto de MrBeast podcast, labeling him “the representative of alcohol and dr*gs more than sport.” With this animosity brewing, all eyes are on featherweight king Ilia Topuria.

Will he give Conor McGregor a chance to reclaim his former title, especially as McGregor struggles to get into the Octagon again these days? Is that a fight fans would want to see? Let us know in the comments.