Conor McGregor is perhaps the biggest superstar in the sport of MMA to date. As such, many people want to fight and beat him to make a statement. Featherweight star Ilia Topuria also spoke about fighting McGregor during a recent interview. Moreover, he went on to predict that if he ever fought ‘The Notorious’, he’d end up knocking out the former double champion.

Ilia Topuria is just days away from the biggest fight of his career. He will be taking on Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight championship at UFC 298. Meanwhile, Topuria also did not mind talking about some other possible matchups, including a fight against Conor McGregor. Let’s see what he had to say.

Ilia Topuria claims Conor McGregor is not the same fighter he was

During a recent interview with ‘KOlmenero‘, the featherweight title challenger mentioned that there is no doubt in Conor McGregor’s status as a superstar. However, he has suffered some major losses in his last few fights, which has lowered his stock as a credible contender. Ilia Topuria said, “Conor McGregor is a superstar, obviously. [But] now, it is clear that his numbers have also gone down due to his defeats.” (via Google Translate)

The Georgian-Spanish fighter isn’t sure if Conor McGregor will ever return to fight again. Nevertheless, Ilia Topuria still believes there is a chance for the Irishman to bounce back if he can win his comeback fight. “I don’t know if he will ever fight again in June or July. If he wins again, he could have some hype again,” ‘El Matador’ added. Meanwhile, he also shared a bold fate for McGregor if they ever squared off inside the Octagon.

Topuria is confident that he’ll knock out the Irishman in the 1st round

Given how big of a star Conor McGregor is, Ilia Topuria would love to fight the former double champion. However, ‘The Notorious’ has shown a considerable change in his physique, which has led ‘El Matador’ to be unsure about the proper weight class for their fight. Topuria further stated, “So fighting him would be good. In what weight? Well, the weight would be different.”

However, the weight class doesn’t seem to be a problem for Ilia Topuria. He is willing to fight at any given weight class. But when they square off, the Georgian-Spanish fighter claims that things may not end well for the former double champion. Topuria is confident that he will knock out Conor McGregor easily in the very first round of their fight. “I wouldn’t care about the weight or whether he feels comfortable because I feel comfortable in whichever way I feel. And the prediction? Please, first round [knockout],” Topuria added.

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Conor McGregor has a lot of possible opponents like Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, and Justin Gaethje. He had already mentioned earlier that fighting these three fighters was in his plans. Hence, we may not get to see a fight between McGregor and Ilia Topuria soon. However, if they do fight, it will be interesting to see how the Irishman fares against ‘El Matador’, who’s made a significant impact since his arrival in the UFC.

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