Ilia Topuria: UFC featherweight champion says it's 'now or never' for Conor McGregor fight at the Bernabeu

Ilia Topuria believes it's "now or never" for a potential blockbuster fight with Conor McGregor.

Topuria recently became UFC featherweight champion when he defeated the incumbent Alex Volkanovski last month.

That took him to a 15-0 record, and speaking to Marca, he reflected on his achievement.

"It has been magical that it has spread to these levels," Topuria said. "I imagined that this was going to happen and it's another thing to live it in the present. I had faith, but it's another thing to put on your belt and live it.

"I am at a loss for words. I have an immense love for this country. Spain changed my life. It reached out to me and gave me the opportunity to get a better version of myself.

"When I connected with [knocked down] Volk [Volkanovski], I had a unique vision inside the Octagon. The energy. I didn't see his eyes. I saw him go down and little else.

"The referee came and stopped the fight. Now I can do it again and again [knock out an opponent and win], but it will never be like the first time."

With plenty of focus ahead on UFC 300 - to be shown on TNT Sports - some expected and perhaps hoped for the long-awaited return of former champion McGregor, who is yet to come back from his broken-leg defeat to Dustin Poirier in their 2021 trilogy rematch.

McGregor held titles both at lightweight and featherweight, but in recent months there have been suggestions that the UFC will create a new, 165lb division to accommodate fighters, and at 35 years old it is perhaps difficult to imagine that the Irish fighter would drop back down to featherweight.

Of course, Topuria still wants to fight such a big name, and Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium has been mooted as a potential venue, given the UFC’s increasing commitment to holding fights outside North America.

The new champion remains keen on the fight.

"The plans remain the same with the fight with Conor," Topuria added. "I have my preferences. I would fight Conor, I would be No. 1. But it would be now or never with him.

"My dream was to be the best; to have my Spanish ID. And now it's to fight at the Bernabeu. And here I will fight, yes or yes. I am a realistic person. He is the only one who is ready to do this event. Everything is lined up. I think we will have an event at the end of this year.

"I really have a lot of admiration and respect for this man for everything he did in the sport. It is a b****** to hate him. Then everything he did in his personal life... it's one thing. I don't like to judge people without knowing them. But he's an icon in the sport."

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