By Kleberly Mendoza
Dec 18, 2024, 17:00 PM EST
Ilia Topuria, UFC featherweight champion, ruled out rumors of an alleged fight with Conor McGregor and denied being interested in going up to the most famous octagon in the world against “a rapist.”
In a post on his X account, Topuria made his position clear regarding a possible confrontation with McGregor, whom considered his idol before being found guilty for sexual assault.
“Rumors of a fight with McFrango are false. I don’t fight and I’m not interested in fighting a rapist.”said the Spanish UFC star.
The refusal of ‘El Matador’, as the Spaniard is also known, is related to the sentence that McGregor received from the Dublin High Court for sexually abusing Nikita Hands in a hotel of the Irish capital in 2018 and must pay compensation of $259,030.
The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion He also took to his social networks to deny the fight with Ilia Topuria and revealed that he is in negotiations for an in-ring fight with Logan Paul, Jake’s brother, in India.
“Rumors of a fight with Topuria are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India. I have accepted. Then I will look to return to the octagon,” he wrote.
For now, Topuria is looking for a new rival after defending his featherweight belt for the first time against Max Holloway. El Matador has also expressed interest in moving up to lightweight to win the two-time championship and has his sights on Brazilian Charles Oliveira.
Ilia Topuria He is undefeated in the sport after 16 fights in the octagon and became 145-pound champion by taking the belt from Alexander Volkanovski last February.
Conor McGregor, 36, is one of MMA’s biggest stars and former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, but his return to the cage is still expected. The Irish he was going to fight in June 2024 against Michael Chandlerbut injured a toe and the fight was postponed.
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