Ilia Topuria's Bold Warning to Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez, and Brian Ortega: 'Go and Retire'
Ilia Topuria not only vows to defeat Alexander Volkanovski devastatingly at UFC 298, but he also sends a stern warning to any hopeful featherweight contenders looking for a title shot afterward.
Speaking on The MMA Hour, "El Matador" told contenders Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez, and Brian Ortega to "go and retire" if he becomes champion:
"I'm going to beat a guy that [beat all three of them]," Topuria remarked. "How? It doesn't make any sense. Max, Yair, Brian Ortega, all of them, they can go and retire. I'm never going to give them a chance to fight for the title."
Following Topuria's logic, the only contender in the featherweight top-five that he could fight is undefeated Movsar Evloev. However, Topuria has made it very clear that he'd like a super fight with Conor McGregor for a Spain PPV instead.
"Topuria vs. McGregor [at UFC Spain]," Topuria declared in a Tweet. The German-born Spaniard also boasted that he'd fight McGregor after Volkanovski in a recent exchange with Sean O'Malley on Twitter; his sights are set firmly on the Irish mega-star.
Despite his confidence, Topuria remains the small betting underdog in his matchup with Volkanovski.
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