Ilia Topuria criticized Conor McGregor‘s mental state and commitment to returning to the UFC, while awaiting his own first 145-pound title defense.
Ilia Topuria isn’t impressed with Conor McGregor’s road to a hopeful return to the UFC octagon.
The current featherweight champion has been calling for a future fight with McGregor since winning the title in February. He secured his championship with a knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.
After McGregor revealed a broken toe was the reason he withdrew from the UFC 303 main event with Michael Chandler, “The Notorious” made some bold promises. He vowed never to compete injured or hurt in the UFC again and predicted he would “never lose another fight.”
Topuria seized the moment to respond to the first-ever two-division UFC champion.
“You are mentally broken,” Topuria told McGregor on Twitter. “That is your biggest lesson. You doubt yourself, your abilities, your preparation, that’s why you don’t show up. You are a bitch.”
Topuria is still waiting to book his first 145-pound title defense. Meanwhile, McGregor hopes to return to action for the first time since suffering a horrific leg injury in his UFC 264 stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.