New UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is already calling his shots. Topuria, who shocked many with his second round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 on Saturday, made it clear in his post-fight interview that he has his eyes on the biggest money fight available to him in former featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
“Conor McGregor, if you still have some balls,” Topuria said. “I will be waiting for you in Spain.”
McGregor, the promotion’s first two-division champion, has not competed at 145 pounds since winning the title with a stunning 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in December 2015. He has also been completely out of action since suffering a gruesome leg injury against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 while also appearing in the upcoming reboot of “Road House.”
Topuria elaborated on his comments during his press conference after the fight when asked about McGregor and his absence from the featherweight division for nearly a decade.
“Without any weight limit. There’s no weights if I fight him, he can choose it. I give him that option,” Topuria said. “If he feels that he’s ready for this level of competition, he can choose the weight. I choose the place.”
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Topuria moved to 15-0 with the win on Saturday night, including 13 of those victories ending via stoppage. He has competed once at lightweight in his career, scoring a second-round knockout of Jai Herbert in March 2022.
