Conor McGregor Challenged By Popular UFC Contender For Massive Event

Conor McGregor is expected to make his return to the UFC at some point next year, and one of the promotion’s most promising young talents would love to meet the Irishman on a potentially historic card.

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Plans for McGregor to compete again before the end of this year quickly fell apart following his appearance as a coach on Season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter. The 35-year-old now appears eager to get back into action as soon as possible in 2024, but for the moment neither an opponent nor a date have been finalized.

Many fans still have their fingers crossed that “The Notorious” will make his return at UFC 300 in April, but the former two-division champion recently received an unexpected proposition from unbeaten featherweight contender Ilia Topuria calling for the pair to headline a UFC event in Spain.

Topuria vs McGregor #ufcspain
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) December 29, 2023

Representing both Spain and Georgia, Topuria made his UFC debut in 2020 and has gone 6-0 with four finishes to bring his professional record to a perfect 14-0. “El Matador” currently sits at #5 in the featherweight rankings and is scheduled to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the division’s title at UFC 298.

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McGregor first made a name for himself in the UFC as a featherweight and famously captured the belt from longtime champion Jose Aldo with a 13-second knockout. The Irishman has only competed at lightweight and welterweight since then, but Topuria also previously competed at lightweight when he knocked out Jai Herbert at a UFC Fight Night event last year.

UFC CEO Dana White has stated that the promotion would like to hold an event in Spain at some point, but for now Topuria will need to focus on his upcoming title fight with Volkanovski before he attempts to set up a matchup with McGregor.

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