Betnuvo
Olympic Sports
News, Blog and GuidesThe Irishman doesn’t like Topuria and didn’t bite his tongue when asked about the Spanish-Georgian undefeated champion.
Fidel RubioUpdate: May 21st, 2024 08:07 EDT0
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has repeatedly said he wants to fight Conor McGregor in Spain, but that fight could be further than many would expect.
The Irishman talked about Topuria during a live chat and the former two-belt simultaneous champion didn’t hesitate to rip the Alicante-based fighter.
“F**k him, too. I don’t give a f*ck about him either. He reminds me of a little r*tard Artem Lobov. Topuria, [he] does, two little r*tards”, McGregor said.
El Matador’s popularity has increased exponentially after he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round of the UFC 298′s main event. After his victory, he accepted to take on Max Holloway next for the Hawaiian’s BMF belt, although Topuria’s priority would be to fight ‘The Notorious’ at the end of 2024 or in 2025 in Spain.
Conor McGregor on Ilia Topuria via @Duelbits:“I don’t give a f*** about him. He reminds me of a little r**ard called Artem Lobov, Topuria does. Two little r**ards.” 📸 @ChampRDS pic.twitter.com/paB0kljM04
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) May 20, 2024
Why did McGregor attack Topuria?
While McGregor’s words could be seen as a way of promoting a potential fight with Topuria, the reason behind the Irish’s words about the UFC champion is money.
The Dublin native compared Topuria with his former friend and teammate Artem Lobov after the Spanish-Georgian said he would be the highest-paid athlete in 2025.
But why? Lobov sued McGregor in 2022 over the sale of the majority of the whiskey brand he founded Proper 12 to Proximo Spirits for $600 million. Lobov demanded five percent of the amount McGregor received. The Irishman criticized Lobov on X, calling him a rat, and the Russian sued him for defamation.
After that episode with Lobov and now Topuria saying he will be the highest-paid athlete in 2025, a place that belonged to McGregor in 2021 according to Forbes Magazine, the Irish UFC legend couldn’t help but trash Topuria.
“I’ll tell you why I said what I said about him. Because he’s talking about, he’s going to be the highest-paid athlete in 2025. It’s 2024. It’s actually now. The 2025 highest-paid athlete list begins right now. The list came out only recently, which means he’s going to have to rake in about $200, $300 million. Don’t be silly, lad”, he stated.
