Conor McGregor suggests UFC rival has been copying his behaviour

The Irishman made a sanction for himself during his emergence to the apical of the athletics and has precocious suggested a existent UFC combatant is copying his tactics

Former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor has suggested featherweight king Ilia Topuria has been copying immoderate of his methods.

The brace person exchanged respective verbal altercations implicit the past fewer weeks. During a caller quality connected a watercourse sponsored by Duelbits, the Irishman deed retired astatine Topuria - who remarked helium wasn't important capable to combat close now. While some men person traded barbs recently, things took an unexpected crook erstwhile the featherweight champion sent an unfastened invitation to McGregor, enticing 'The Notorious' to travel train with the 27-year-old.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, helium said: “He’s a fake fighter. He fakes each the clip that he’s going to fight. Fighters combat each day…for me, he’s retired, I don’t adjacent privation to speech astir a feline that’s retired. I consciousness bad…that’s ne'er going to happen, never. How? I’m the world champion and he’s not adjacent successful the rankings. But, we tin bash thing if helium wants. For my adjacent grooming campy for my adjacent fight, I invitation him with Dan Hooker and we tin bash 2 and a fractional infinitesimal [sessions]…I’ll alteration them each round, we tin bash that… Official fight? That’s impossible. And close present astatine this point, I person overmuch bigger fights than Conor McGregor. Conor McChicken.”

'El Matador' has agelong called for a combat with the Irishman contempt immoderate of his caller comments online. Topuria picked up the 145lb rubric aft knocking retired Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year. He is acceptable to support his rubric for the archetypal clip this play against erstwhile champion Max Holloway successful Abu Dhabi astatine UFC 308.

Topuria - who remains undefeated successful the cage - has enjoyed a sensational emergence to the apical of the athletics and is present regarded arsenic 1 of the champion pound-for-pound fighters connected the planet. It's just to accidental that the featherweight prima comes crossed arsenic precise assured and assured successful the physique up to his fights.

That said, McGregor precocious shared a video from a UFC meme relationship to his authoritative Instagram account, which compared his tactics to that of Topuria's. Ahead of his archetypal rubric combat successful 2015, The Notorious' clashed with then-champion Jose Aldo respective times. McGregor famously snatched the Brazilian's loop and held it successful the air.

Similarly, up of his showdown with Volkanovski backmost successful February, Topuria pulled the aforesaid stunt. In the video shared connected the Irishman's Instagram, the clip was captioned, “Spot the difference” and describes 'El Matador's' methods arsenic “Level: Medium.”

McGregor hasn't fought successful the UFC since suffering a decision to Dustin Poirier backmost successful 2021. He was expected to marque his UFC comeback against Michael Chandler earlier this year, but pulled retired of his UFC 303 clash owed to an injury. The Irishman prima inactive hopes to settee his beef with the erstwhile Bellator champion, but UFC brag Dana White has insisted nary determination has been made astir his adjacent opponent. “I’d similar it to beryllium Chandler,” McGregor said astir his UFC instrumentality up of Anthony Joshua’s nonaccomplishment to Daniel Dubois past month. “I’d similar that to beryllium squared away. I privation him good against Oliveira, but let’s spot however it goes.”

White ever anticipated that the 36-year-old would instrumentality adjacent year. When asked if McGregor volition combat again, helium replied: “Yes. I wasn’t 100 per cent successful 2024, but I americium successful 2025. I conscionable am. I cognize much than you guys know. I’m 100 per cent assured McGregor volition combat adjacent year."