Conor McGregor sees parallels between himself and Ilia Topuria, criticizing Topuria’s promotional tactics as reminiscent of his own but less impressive, amid their social media feud before Topuria’s title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308.
Conor McGregor sees some similarities between himself and Ilia Topuria, but he’s not impressed. Ahead of Topuria’s featherweight title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308, the two have been trading barbs on social media. Topuria suggested Holloway should be embarrassed for losing to McGregor, while McGregor warned him that his reign might end soon if he’s not careful.
McGregor, a former UFC champion at both 155 and 145 pounds, shared a video from a UFC meme account on his Instagram Stories. The clip compared his promotional tactics to Topuria’s. You can check out the clip below—it’s quite the spectacle!
Back in 2015, McGregor was in a heated feud with then-featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Remember that? The build-up to their UFC 196 bout was intense. McGregor stole the show at a Dublin press conference by snatching Aldo’s belt and holding it high.
In December of that year, McGregor delivered a stunning one-punch, 13-second knockout. Talk about making a statement! Fast forward to this past February: Topuria pulled a similar stunt before his fight with Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski was aiming for a sixth straight featherweight title defense at UFC 298.
Like McGregor, Topuria seized the moment during a press conference, snatching the belt prematurely. And guess what? He also won via knockout, finishing Volkanovski in the second round. Déjà vu much?
The video shared by McGregor makes its stance clear with the caption “Spot the difference.” It cheekily describes Topuria’s effort as “Level: Medium.” Ouch! Now, Topuria’s first title defense is just around the corner as he faces Holloway in Abu Dhabi this Saturday.
As for McGregor? Well, he hasn’t fought since July 2021 and is still waiting for his next booking. Who knows what’s next for him?