At UFC 264 Ilia Topuria made his PPV debut under the trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

Ilia Topuria has commented on Conor McGregor negative aura.

In recent months every headline around McGregor has been a bad one and the respect for Irishman has crumbled rapidly. With his demise outside of the Octagon and no signs of a UFC return, there has been a rising star in his old division. Topuria rose to featherweight gold and was named a fighter of the year by many for 2024. Knockouts over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway within months of each other is a spectacular feat leaving fans in awe. Many speculate what is next for the Spaniard as he becomes one of the faces of the UFC. His immense rise to stardom has led many to make the comparisons with McGregor even down to the tattoos on both men. On a podcast Topuria spoke of his first interaction with McGregor at that UFC 264 card.

Ilia Topuria On The Wild Project

The interviewer asked about that first time meeting McGregor at UFC 264 and if there was an essence of superiority. The featherweight champion had this to say,

“No, just a terrible energy. I swear it felt like his aura came from hell, you know what I’m saying? I want to be away from this guy, he has a dark energy. I’ve never felt anything like that before in my life.” Quote via SportsSkeeda.

Now surrounding that event it was clear to see McGregor’s demeanour was vastly different to his last bout with Poirier in January of that year. At UFC 257 the interactions between the pair were respectful and complimentary however only months later at UFC 264 the tension was venomous. This boiled over particularly after the bout with the infamous interview between Joe Rogan and McGregor after the Irishman had just broken his ankle and was sat inside the cage. Fans have not seen McGregor fight since and it is quite possible he may never fight again. The recent TUF season with Michael Chandler did not conclude with a bout as the date was continually postponed forcing Chandler to find a new opponent. At UFC 264 Topuria showed out with a violent first round knockout of jiu-jitsu wizard Ryan Hall.

The False Rumours of Topuria vs McGregor

A few months ago rumours began to arise about a McGregor vs Topuria fight in 2025. It was completely out of left field and as expected the rumours were dispelled quickly by both parties. However, the disdain between the pair has remained ignited as both have continued to comment on each other.

Back in July at a Bare Knuckle FC press conference McGregor said,

“I’d slap him around, he’s too small, you know, I’m a big lad compared to Ilia but he’s not bad.” He followed up with “Combat sports are big here in Spain so, you know, I’m not here for no reason my man. Topuria, boom boom boom, slap the head off him no problem. No problemo. I’ll slap him back to Georgia.” Quotes via BloodyElbow.

In October during the build up to his bout with Holloway the champion boldly stated,

“He’s just not on my level, not at all. Otherwise, I’d gladly plant these knuckles in his brain to see if I could fix it and straighten his nose.” He taunted McGregor further saying “I’ll dance on your head. 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.” Quotes from CSUK.

The rivalry between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor is clear to see but a bout is highly unlikely to ever materialize.

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