"It’s time for that chapter to close" - Ilia Topuria explains why he wants to fight Conor McGregor

Newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has finally revealed the reason behind his decision to fight former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor.

Topuria has nothing but respect for McGregor and his career accomplishments. He also expressed a desire to compete against him in the near future. The Spaniard's rise to fame is similar to that of the Irishman, as both men were not afraid to express their belief in dethroning their opponents.

Prior to his championship matchup with Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria was confident of defeating the Australian and winning the featherweight title. It was similar to 'The Notorious' who did the same in the run-up to his championship matchup with the then-reigning featherweight king Jose Aldo.

Topuria recently discussed his desire to fight McGregor in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca and said:

''First and foremost, in terms of making our sports known, he [McGregor] is the perfect character. My goal is to expand the sport, I want to expand the sport as much as I can, and the more people know about it, the better.

''Two, because he represents a chapter in MMA and I believe that it is time for that chapter to close and a new one to begin.''

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:

Topuria had previously called out McGregor after his second-round KO victory over Volkanovski in the headline bout of UFC 298. He challenged McGregor to fight in his home country of Spain, saying:

"Hey Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell], it’s showtime. It’s time to take the UFC to Spain. Conor McGregor, if you still have some b*lls, I will be waiting for you in Spain."

It is evident that McGregor hasn't fought since sustaining a leg injury against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 at UFC 264. He is likely to return to the octagon later in the year against Michael Chandler.

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Ilia Topuria finances a child's surgery

Ilia Topuria is the champion of the people and his most recent act demonstrates that.

Topuria earned over $350,000 from his title fight against Alexander Volkanovski. In the most recent incident, Monk Andrew's Foundation revealed to the world that Topuria helped fund one of their children's surgeries.

The foundation wrote:

''Our goodwill ambassador, Ilia 'El Matador' Topuria, funded the surgery of one of our children with the money received for his championship dream victory.''