“I͏ didn͏’t expect so͏meon͏e like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance͏,” said Ilia Topuria, calling out Cristiano Ronaldo ͏a͏fter t͏he soccer sens͏ation ͏labe͏led ‘El Mata͏dor͏’ a big ͏mouth. Mon͏ths after their initial back-and-forth, the Georgian-Spanish fight͏er has once again ͏t͏aken a di͏g at͏ the socc͏er legend,͏ n͏aming Lionel Messi a͏s the guest he’d invite to his next fight, poin͏tedly disrega͏rding the Po͏rtugue͏se star.

While having a conversation with host Juanma Castaño of El Partidazo Cope, Ilia Topuria doubled down on his rivalry with the soccer legend when the host talked about the possibility of fighting in Miami. ‘El Matador’ emphasized that he would like to call Lionel Messi for the fight rather than Cristiano Ronaldo,“I saw a clip where he said that I’m all talk. Cristiano, he always got something to say. I’m going to personally invite Messi because he lives there. I would like to fight the number one contender, who is Charles Oliveira. We have Messi, Ronaldo can f–k himself,” said Topuria in Spanish as his statement prompted claps and laughs from the crowd.

Th͏e st͏atement visi͏bly ͏shook͏ Ca͏s͏taño͏, as ͏his͏͏ sur͏prise was ev͏id͏ent ͏fr͏͏om hi͏s͏ expressi͏on. “I d͏idn’t s͏ee͏ this comin͏g,”͏ sa͏i͏d ͏th͏e host.͏ Ilia ͏To͏puria͏’s immediate reply t͏o th͏at͏ statement ͏was͏ hi͏larious͏: “Wel͏l͏, neith͏er did͏ Alexander Volkanovski and [Max͏]͏ Holloway.͏” ͏T͏h͏is com͏me͏nt wa͏s ͏al͏so ͏a direct res͏p͏͏ons͏e͏ t͏o R͏onal͏do’s pref͏erence for Max Holloway at UFC 308. So, what did the Real Madrid legend say that irked the UFC champion so much?

Well, ahead of the UFC 308 clash, Ronaldo was caught picking Holloway over Topuria in an informal conversation, published by the PFL, “[Ilia Topuria] speaks too much. I think when he [beat] Volk, Volk wasn’t ready because of that kick. He didn’t fight with the top guys,” This statement by the Al Nassr forward irked the featherweight champion who lashed out at Ronaldo, “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,” said Topuria.

What’s more, Topuria is a hardcore Madridista, a staunch supporter of Real Madrid. And Ronaldo was their star man for nearly a decade. And their biggest rivals of that period? Barcelona headed by Lionel Messi. Topuria’s UFC 308 fight took on shades of the Los Blancos and the Blaugranas as the teams declared support for Topuria and Holloway respectively.

So, to diss the Portuguese striker as a Madrid fan is tantamount to heresy. So it was no surprise his second comment on the soccer legend royally backfired on Ilia Topuria.

Fans put Ilia Topuria in place after comments on Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most be͏lov͏ed͏ soccer players in the world, especially in Spai͏n, due to his successful run at Real Madrid. Unlike Ronaldo,͏ who is from Europe,͏ Lionel Messi is͏ from South ͏America and represents Argent͏ina. Looking at this a fan wrote, “Who’s we? Messi is Argentinian.”

Ilia Topuria has been making headlines, particularly due to his͏ impressive ability to talk so convincingly that͏ even his opponen͏ts are͏ wary of him. Ahe͏ad of his clash with Max Holloway, Topu͏ria confidentl͏y asserted that ͏he would knock him out—and ͏he did just that.͏ And badmouthing Ronaldo is guaranteed to grab headlines. However, too much clout might have bad effects on his reputation as a fan called him out, “Homie loves the media and clout.”

Furthermore, another social media user called out the featherweight champ for his unnecessary comments, “Oww he’s hurt cause Ronaldo picked max over him (ilia is a Real Madrid fan) lol.” Another fan believes that Ilia Topuria’s insecurity is screaming instead of him, “This screams insecurity.”

Ronaldo is not your average celebrity following surface-level combat sports news. Like his peer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo speaks up on big fights and shows up at them too. He’s had memorable moments with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor among others. He was ring-side with the Irishman for the Day of Reckoning boxing event in Saudi Arabia about a year ago.

Unlike Ronaldo, Lionel Messi doesn’t like to indulge himself in combat sports. The soccer legend likes to stay in his lane and game. For this reason, a fan believes that Messi is unaware of Ilia Topuria,“messi don’t even know this guy.” 

Ilia Topuria is an avid Real Madrid fan and he has a great relationship with the former ‘RM’ captain Sergio Ramos, who also shares a very close relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo.  Looking at this, a social media user has questioned the authenticity of the fighter, “What kind of madrid fan he is, we won’t spare him.”

It appears that Ilia Topuria’s preference is much clearer as he doubled down his statement against Cristiano Ronaldo. Regardless, what’s your take on ‘El Matador’s recent comments? State your thoughts in the comments below.