Remember Ilia Topuria claiming that he could beat Conor McGregor, that too, in the first round? A reporter dropped that same question to Conor McGregor about his ‘Mystic Mac’ prediction for a fight against the UFC featherweight champion, although in a different setting. And guess what? The Irishman answered that question in true McGregor fashion.

A few months back, Conor McGregor announced becoming a part owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, and as such, he recently made his first appearance as an executive of that promotion at the BKFC pre-fight presser in Spain. While promoting the card, he answered a reporter’s question about Ilia Topuria and the 36-year-old’s reply was a mixed one.

Conor McGregor claims Ilia Topuria is “not bad” but not too good to beat him

Ilia Topuria is arguably one of the biggest European names in the UFC and even has some sporting legends, like real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos, as fans. Having become a champion in the UFC, a reporter asked Conor McGregor what he thinks about a bare-knuckle showdown between him and the Georgian-Spaniard in the BKFC. Well, the former UFC dual-weight champion did not question the credentials of Topuria’s striking skills.

“Ilia, Spanish-Georgian lad, he’s not bad. He’s got, you know, he’s a boxing-heavy style. He would certainly land well in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship,” Conor McGregor told the reporter. But as usual, McGregor would rip into Ilia Topuria by claiming that he’s got no chance against him just because of the size difference alone.

“I’d slap him around. He’s too small, you know. I’m a big lad compared to Ilia, but he’s not bad, you know. He’s the current UFC world champion,” Conor McGregor added. Will it be a first-round win, like Ilia Topuria predicts? We may never know that. It seems like ‘El Matador’s comments haven’t led to a beef between the two UFC stars, so maybe we might get to see Topuria compete inside the BKFC squared circle.

While Conor McGregor thinks Ilia Topuria doesn’t stand a chance against him, certain oddsmakers believe that ‘El Matador’ could beat another former featherweight champion. If you’re wondering who could that be, well, it’s our BMF champion, Max Holloway.

Topuria favorite to beat Max Holloway

There have been rumors about a potential UFC 306 featherweight title defense for Ilia Topuria against Max Holloway. However, that has not been confirmed even though people think that fight’s going to happen, anyway. And would you believe it? The oddsmakers have made Holloway the underdog of this potential clash. On one of the websites, Topuria stood at -175 as the favorite, while ‘Blessed’ stood at +150.

This is an interesting take because Max Holloway recently shut all his critics up after arguably the most memorable finish to a fight at UFC 300 against Justin Gaethje. Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria beat the seemingly unbeatable Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, and that also, by knocking ‘The Great’ out. It will be interesting to see who wins that fight, and if UFC 306 is indeed the destination for that epic featherweight clash.

What do you think of Ilia Topuria’s chances against Conor McGregor? Let us know in the comments.