UFC Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has been totally disregarded as a legitimate opponent by featherweight title contender Ilia Topuria. Prior to challenging Alexander Vollanovski for the 145 lbs gold at UFC 298, Topuria has gone on to lash at multiple fighters.
He has appeared optimistic about beating Alexander Volkanovski and has also revealed a few of his potential future plans. Desiring for a fight against Conor McGregor, Topuria is marching towards the big paydays.
Meanwhile, he seems uninterested in testing himself against UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. He took to Twitter and revealed plans to target Conor McGregor after UFC 298.
Topuria wrote, “I offered to fight you [Sean O’Malley] but the UFC told me that you are only good for fighting in teenager’s place because that’s your only fanbase. Our fight will never happen. After fighting Volk, I will fight Conor, and you will come as a fanboy. After seeing your PPV numbers the only thing I can offer you is that you fight in the preliminaries of my card.”
Ilia Topuria says a fight against Sean O'Malley "will never happen" pic.twitter.com/bNXer2MgQo
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 4, 2024
Once an undisputed featherweight champion, Conor McGregor has gained weight over the years. He has vowed to compete at 185 lbs (middleweight) on his MMA return on June 29th against Michael Chandler.
Hence, a featherweight fighter Ilia Topuria needs to move up to McGregor’s weight class since the Irishman doesn’t look likely to come down to 145 lbs anymore. Well, all of these plans can come to an end of Ilia Topuria fails to beat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.
Also Read | Conor McGregor Didn’t Get to Choose Fight Date, DC Claims Irishman Had UFC 300 in Plans
UFC 298- Everything You Need To Know About The PPV
The UFC 298 PPV will tale place on Fenruary 17 at the Honda Centre in California. The event will be streamed live on ESPN and ESPN + in the USA, and TNT Sports in the UK,. In India, fans can catch the action live on Sony Sports Network.Here’s a look at the complete fight card.
Alexander Volkanovski (C) vs Ilia Topuria- Main Event of Featherweight Title Fight
Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo- Bantamweight Co-Main Event
Tai Tuivasa vs Marcin Tybura- Heavyweight Fight
Geoff Neal vs Ian Machado Garry- Welterweight Fight
Tatiana Suarez vs Amanda Lemos- Women’s Strawweight Fight
Anthony Hernandez vs Ikram Aliskerov- Middleweight Fight
Marcos Rogerio De Lima vs Justin Tafa- Heavyweight Fight
Zhang Mingyang vs Brendson Ribeiro- Light Heavyweight Fight
Yusaku Konoshita vs Danny Barlow- Welterweight Fight
Andrea Lee vs Miranda Maverick- Women’s Flyweight Fight
