Ilia Topuria opens up about beef with Cristiano Ronaldo: "He followed me"

Ilia Topuria recently addressed his beef with Cristiano Ronaldo and whether he would be open to squashing it. 'El Matador' noted that Ronaldo got the wrong impression about him and jumped to conclusions.

Topuria's beef with Ronaldo began after a video surfaced on social media in which the soccer legend was speaking with the MMA coach Eric Nicksick. During 'CR7's' conversation with Nicksick, he predicted that Max Holloway would defeat 'El Matador' to regain the featherweight championship.

The prediction ended up being incorrect as Topuria earned a knockout win over Holloway, making him the first to do so.

In his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'El Matador' admitted that he was upset with Ronaldo's comments and answered whether he still has any resentment. Topuria also revealed that the soccer legend began following him on social media and mentioned that he believes his perception would change if they met in person. He said:

"I think [Ronaldo] said something about me when he was backstage with Ngannou and it felt bad to be honest. But then, I don't know, he started following me, so, we'll see. Maybe one day we will meet each other. This is what I said, like, once he's going to meet me in person, he's not gonna have that opinion about me that I talk too much and this and that. But, maybe that's the perception that he had about me when he [saw] me on social media... After all that, he started following me. Maybe he saw something different about me."

Check out the full episode featuring Ilia Topuria's comments below:

---

Ilia Topuria was upset when Cristiano Ronaldo's comments surfaced on social media

Ilia Topuria was upset when the video showing Cristiano Ronaldo's comments about him surfaced on social media.

Topuria reposted Championship Rounds' post featuring the video, along with his thoughts on Ronaldo's opinion of him. 'El Matador' mentioned that the Portuguese star should be able to spot the difference between somebody confident and someone arrogant. He wrote:

"I didn't expect someone like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance. But, at the end of the day, we all reflect our own reality onto others. I wish you the best for what remains of your career, and God bless your family."

Check out Ilia Topuria's post responding to Cristiano Ronaldo below: