Newly-crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria warned us before his stunning knockout win over Alex Volkanovski at UFC 298 that he was not going to defend his 145-pound title against a bunch of washed-up featherweights.
That may have inadvertently motivated featherweight phenom Brian Ortega to kick off his “ruin everyone” world tour at UFC Mexico City last weekend in Mexico.
Among the names listed were former two-division champion and bearer of red panties, Conor McGregor, as well as retired lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov. Topuria, undefeated at 15-0, is “100-percent” sure he would win.
‘’I would be happy to enter the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Topuria said in a recent interview. “He had an undefeated record at 29-0 and he had an attractive record for me, then also history. He is a worthy and honorable champion for me.”
Topuria also took a swipe at reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
“Conor, Islam, Khabib, Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Messi… Who else do you want to fight rather than the only undefeated fighter in your division?” No. 5-ranked title contender Movsar Evloev fired back on social media.
Evloev has a perfect 18-0 record in MMA.
With Volkanovski defeated and Max Holloway booked to compete at UFC 300 in April, the only credible threats are Ortega and Evloev. No telling what the promotion has in store for Topuria but we could see “El Matador” resurfacing in time for International Fight Week.