"Local community theater rendition" - Fans react as Ilia Topuria's UFC 298 presser antics show shades of pre-José Aldo KO Conor McGregor

Ilia Topuria took center stage at the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference, where his antics and overall behavior drew comparisons to Conor McGregor's shenanigans toward José Aldo at the UFC 189 pre-fight press conference many years ago. Specifically, Topuria snatched Volkanovski's belt from the table.

This was something McGregor did to Aldo back in 2015, which has since been immortalized as one of the Irishman's most iconic moments. Unfortunately, fans have not responded positively to Topuria's imitation of 'The Notorious'. Instead, the Spaniard has been subjected to mockery online.

Check out Ilia Topuria taking Alexander Volkanovski's belt:

The UFC's official X/Twitter account shared clips of Topuria and McGregor stealing Volkvanoski and Aldo's belts, but the reaction it drew from fans was more comedic than anything. One fan mocked the comparison between Topuria and McGregor.

"If by before you mean a local community theater rendition of the McGregor/Aldo presser, then yes."

Another fan taunted Topuria over his perceived desire to emulate McGregor.

"He wants to be Conor so badddd"

Others felt that by emulating McGregor, Topuria was ruining his own aura.

"I feel like you lose aura when u take someone's gimmick. But maybe that's just me"

This was echoed by others.

"There's only ever gonna be 1 McGregor! #McGregorForever"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Ilia Topuria emulating Conor McGregor

Topuria has put tremendous pressure on himself ahead of UFC 298. He has belittled Volkanovski's skills as a fighter and even dared to identify himself as a UFC champion with a 15–0 record (he is actually 14–0) on his Instagram bio, which has irked the defending champion.

A loss come Saturday would be catastrophic to Topuria's career, given all of his promises, such as claiming that his fight with Volkanovski would be one of the easiest of his career. A claim that was disputed by his fellow featherweights. A win, however, could catapult him into superstardom.

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Ilia Topuria wants to fight Conor McGregor for his first title defense?

Ilia Topuria has already outlined his title defense plans should he emerge from UFC 298 as the featherweight champion. He disregarded every contender in the top five, citing their previous losses to Alexander Volkanovski as his reason, before calling for a bout with Conor McGregor.

It has become customary for fighters to seek a lucrative fight with the Irishman, given his standing as the sport's biggest pay-per-view draw. However, given the hurdles the UFC has experienced in convincing McGregor to return, the fight would almost certainly not happen.