UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is sure he will beat Conor McGregor. This is not surprising given the steep downward trend ‘Mac’s career has been on over the past half a decade or so. But what is surprising is El Matador’s claim that he would have beaten the mythical prime Conor McGregor, who was poetry in motion, and arguably the greatest striker in UFC history.

“MMA has evolved. He was really good in the stand-up, but on the ground, he was always terrible. I’d beat him in his prime, at any time… wherever, whenever, it’s not a competition. Let him keep drinking whiskey,” the ever-confident Topuria said.

Topuria is right as far as McGregor’s lack of any grappling skills is concerned. After all, Mac’s first UFC loss came via a submission to Nate Diaz eight years ago at UFC 196; not to mention the Irishman was no match for Khabib Nurmagomedov and his fearsome grappling at their historic UFC 229 clash.

The Notorious One’s lack of ground game and recent decline notwithstanding, Conor McGregor was an era-defining fighter in his prime. The Irishman just had a swagger and air of invincibility around him which was unknown before his arrival. And since ‘El Matador’ is also a striker, by and large, Topuria’s confidence that he would have certainly beaten a young and hungry McGregor seems a bit misplaced. But there is still a chance, even if a slim one, that Topuria gets to fight the current version of McGregor. The foundation for it has certainly been laid by both men.

Fresh shots fired between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor

Ilia Topuria as you will remember, had called out Conor McGregor immediately after becoming champion in his post-fight octagon interview at UFC 298. Of course, it was immediately shot down by Dana White at the post-fight press conference as the UFC President doubted if McGregor would drop to 145lbs ever again. Additionally, Topuria later branded ‘Mystic Mac’ ‘unworthy’ of facing him.

But the embers between the two have refused to die down. Most recently Conor McGregor trashed ‘El Matador’ two days ago for not being of pure Spanish descent. Topuria, of course, is not one to take things lying down and responded by promising to end McGregor’s life, after humiliating him, if they saw each other on the streets.

“Conor’s problem is I’ll slap these nuts on his forehead, right here, and I’ll warm him up with this. Then I’ll throw him down and stomp on his head. See you around. Let’s hope we don’t run into McGregor here, or there’ll be a funeral,” Topuria said.

And having a feud with the sport’s biggest-ever superstar is not a bad idea for a sure-shot future icon in his own right. After all, even if a fight with McGregor is not on the cards anytime soon, feuding with him is a sure way to keep your name in the headlines. And maybe, just maybe, McGregor goes on such a stellar run after his comeback that even Topuria reconsiders ‘Mac’s worthiness to face him. What do you think about Ilia Topuria’s latest comments about Conor McGregor?