Ilia
Topuria’s top three preferred matchups include Conor
McGregor. 

Topuria recently revealed that his top three preferred opponents
are Islam
Makhachev, McGregor, and Paddy
Pimblett. Topuria added that he would love to hand Pimblett the
first knockout loss of his career.

“Islam, Conor, and Paddy,” Topuria told Adin Ross on a Kick stream.
“… I’d love to do that – to be the first one [to KO Paddy]. If
someone else did it, I can do it too. And if no one did it, I can
always be the first to do it.”

High-Profile Foes

Topuria (17-0) was the featherweight champion when he started
rallying for a double champ bid against then-lightweight champ
Islam
Makhachev. However, that matchup never came to fruition as
Makhachev moved up and won the welterweight title. Meanwhile,
Topuria moved up and became the lightweight champion. While both
parties continue to tease the matchup, Makhachev is unwilling to
move down to lightweight. 

Meanwhile, McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in a
trilogy loss against Dustin
Poirier in 2021. However, Topuria’s interest in fighting
McGregor speaks volumes about how big a draw “Notorious” still
is.  

Meanwhile, Topuria and Pimblett have a history between them. The
beef started with Pimblett’s insensitive comments about Topuria’s
home country of Georgia. “The Baddy” even threw a bottle of hand
sanitizer at Topuria at a fighter hotel in London in 2022. After
winning the lightweight title, Topuria clearly expressed his
interest in defending it against Pimblett.

Meanwhile, Justin
Gaethje was threatening retirement if denied a title shot. When
Topuria took a short hiatus, Gaethje and Pimblett fought for the
interim lightweight title at UFC 324 this past January. Gaethje
scored a unanimous decision win over Pimblett and is now set to
fight Topuria in a title unifier later this year. 

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger