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Ilia Topuria appears to have massive plans for 2025 after he recently disclosed his interest in facing Sean O'Malley or Conor McGregor in what would be a bonafide mega-fight.
The featherweight champion had previously discussed his desire to face the Irishman, who carries with him an unmatchable level of prestige and pay-per-view value.
But 'El Matador' would be open to facing 'Sugar' as well, with both parties having expressed their interest in a potential clash.
With Max Holloway having recently won the BMF title after knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, it appears that 'El Matador' fancies himself to lay claim to the belt by 2025.
The 27-year-old was recently interviewed by Ariel Helwani, where he discussed a potential fight at Real Madrid's football stadium, the Santiago Bernabeu, next year. He listed both 'The Notorious' and O'Malley as possible opponents, saying this:
"If Conor beats Michael Chandler, we can fight for the BMF belt at 170 [pounds]. If O'Malley defends his belt, which I have many, many doubts, that's an exciting fight too. So I don't know, in my mind I see a lot of big fights. Even with Volkanovski it's gonna be huge."
Watch Ilia Topuria's interview below from 19:25:
Ilia Topuria discusses facing Max Holloway next
Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje went to war in the Fight of the Night at UFC 300 on April 13, with the Hawaiian securing a stunning KO victory with one second left in Round 5.
Ilia Topuria was in the crowd at the prestigious pay-per-view event, and appears to be one of the few who watched the fight that was not impressed by the performance of 'Blessed'.
With 'El Matador' having defeated Alexander Volkanovski to win the featherweight title at UFC 298, many assumed that 'The Great' would receive an automatic rematch. But Holloway's showing has shaken up the featherweight title picture, and it appears he may fight the Spaniard next.
During his recent interview with Ariel Helwani, he discussed the Hawaiian's recent performance, saying this:
"I was hoping that he won, because if he won I was scheduled to fight him next. So he did a great job. To be honest, the greatest moments in the fight was the last 10 seconds. Without that, I didn't like the fight at all. But what makes that fight special was the last 10 seconds. A real bad motherf***er moment." [6:55-7:30 in Ilia Topuria's interview with Helwani]
