Conor McGregor, Francis Ngannou, Tyron Woodley, and Nate Diaz all crossed over from MMA to boxing. And none found success. But that hasn’t stopped Ilia Topuria from believing he can break the trend. Ahead of his first lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje on June 14 at the White House card, ‘El Matador’ revealed his interest in stepping into the boxing ring against WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.

“Boxing is definitely something where I say, ‘Wow, I’d love to do that,’ but I’d love to do it with someone big, someone real with an established name,” Topuria said in an interview with ABC. “Someone who could add to my resume, which I’ve worked so hard to build. I wouldn’t want to put it in the hands of a nobody, just for money.”

When the reporter proposed a potential fight against Ryan Garcia, Topuria didn’t waste a breath in accepting the challenge. 

“That would be a huge fight, I’d love it,” Topuria said. “I see a fight like Ryan Garcia being very comfortable for me. I think I would break him long before it gets to the judge’s decision.”

As it turns out, however, Ryan Garcia was listening. So, he quickly clapped back on X. 

“You are a damn good striker for MMA, that’s it,” Garcia wrote. “You wouldn’t be sipping on tea after our fight, you would be eating [through] a straw after our fight. Stay in your lane. I’ll gladly stay in mine.”

“YOU BUILT YOUR NAME ON HYPE,” Topuria hit back. “I BUILT MINE BY PUTTING LEGENDS TO SLEEP. I WOULD GIVE YOU A BOXING LESSON. WE ARE NOT ON THE SAME LEVEL. BRING THE GUY YOU FIGHT IN SEPTEMBER. I WOULD BEAT BOTH OF YOU IN THE SAME RING.”

While Ilia Topuria might not be a full-fledged boxer, his striking in the UFC has earned him brutal wins over the likes of Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, former champion Max Holloway, and BMF champion Charles Oliveira. Despite that, the Spaniard’s threat doesn’t appear to have convinced ‘King Ry’ that he would face any threat against Topuria. 

“I built my name sleeping guys that are way better boxers [than] you will ever be,” Garcia wrote back. “You’ve seen many MMA fighters try, and you’ll just be another UFC hype job cashing out by getting knocked out by a boxer.”

Clearly, there’s a need to settle a debate here. However, realistically, this fight is never going to happen. Dana White won’t allow Topuria to fight in a boxing match unless Topuria’s contract runs out and he moves to boxing. And more importantly, while Ilia Topuria is an elite fighter, he’s not a seasoned boxer. 

He could likely hold his own against lower-tier opponents, but facing someone as sharp and explosive as Ryan Garcia right away would be a completely different challenge. If ‘El Matador’ truly wants to make the transition, he may need years dedicated solely to boxing before taking on a name like Garcia. Their back-and-forth didn’t end there, however.

“The biggest win of your career came with steroids,” Topuria wrote. “So that’s where your confidence comes from? Interesting.”

“Aren’t MMA fighters notorious for all being on the juice<’ Garcia responded. “Shut your a— up – now that you can’t stop talking we can really do this after my fight in sept just to FLATLINE YOU.”

“You tested positive and still talk about ‘flatlining’ people,” Topuria wrote. “That confidence is artificial. The world already saw what you needed to win. Juice in your a—.”

The “juice” Topuria is talking about is Ostarine. Garcia popped for the PED back in 2024 when he fought Devin Haney. After the test result came out, the win was overturned, and the fight was declared a no-contest. The pair was supposed to have a rematch, but that hasn’t happened yet. Ryan Garcia is reportedly set to face Conor Benn in September. 

While only time will tell whether Topuria vs. Garcia can happen, this isn’t the first time ‘El Matador’ has targeted a boxer. 

Ilia Topuria wanted to fight Terence Crawford

Last year, Topuria was pushing for a fight with Terence Crawford following Crawford’s victory over Canelo Alvarez. Topuria boldly claimed he would knock out Crawford “with the first punch” if they ever met in the ring. Crawford dismissed the statement and called the Spaniard “drunk.”

The rivalry intensified when Crawford walked out to “Canción del Mariachi,” the same song Topuria uses for his UFC entrances. While Crawford brushed off comparisons afterward, Topuria appeared to take it personally and used it to fuel further interest in the matchup.

Despite Dana White saying he is not interested in crossover bouts, Topuria was confident he could make the fight happen. 

“It’s something I want to do,” Topuria said. “I’ll have his support, I have no doubt about that.”

Ilia Topuria is making bold claims, knowing all too well that the fights are not going to happen. But if it did, who do you think would win the fight?