UFC FREEDOM 250 | MONDAY 15 JUNE 10AM AEST | UFC Freedom 250 delivers a landmark night of fights from the White House, with Topuria vs Gaethje leading a stacked card celebrating America\u2019s 250th anniversary. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n The former two-division champ remains the biggest star in MMA history, despite not having fought since 2021, when he suffered a horrific broken leg during his loss to Dustin Poirier.<\/p>\n And while Topuria believes McGregor can still get the job done against Holloway, the undefeated Spaniard wasn\u2019t exactly talking up the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a sh***y fight,\u201d Topuria told ESPN Deportes. <\/p>\n \u201cBut hey, it\u2019s good for the sport. You have to admit that Conor is one of the biggest stars in the UFC. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like it has its pros and cons; he\u2019s on the decline, and the only one who\u2019s going to benefit is him, not the UFC\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll try to put on the best show, all his antics suit him well,\u201d Topuria added. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a stand-up, striking fight, no wrestling or ground fighting. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Conor is much worse than Max, they\u2019ll be like two kittens touching each other.\u201d<\/p>\n McGregor famously defeated Holloway via unanimous decision when they first fought in 2013<\/a>, doing so despite tearing his ACL during the bout.<\/p>\n While Holloway has remained far more active in recent years, Topuria doesn\u2019t believe that will make much of a difference once the cage door closes.<\/p>\n Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregorSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve already fought once, and he beat him,\u201d Topuria said. <\/p>\n \u201cConor should beat him, if you ask me who I want to win, who would be best for me. If he wins and then wins another fight, we can have that fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Aussie UFC legend Robert Whittaker suggested the move up to welterweight could favour the Irishman.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s say we see Conor of old come back \u2014 huge, muscly, 170 (pounds), feeling himself \u2014 he\u2019s a nightmare for anyone,\u201d Whittaker told Submission Radio.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing Max at 170, I don\u2019t know what that is going to look like\u2026 He looked great at 155 last time, but now this is another step up.<\/p>\n \u201cConor has obviously been moving around at 170 for a while now, so I think he is much more comfortable in that weight division,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cMax\u2019s style relies a lot on volume and speed. So how that plays at a heavier weight, we don\u2019t know. There is a lot of unknown factors in this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Former UFC bad boy Jorge Masvidal, however, believes Holloway\u2019s discipline outside the cage will prove decisive.<\/p>\n \u201cHe smokes him like a brisket,\u201d Masvidal told the Deep Waters podcast. <\/p>\n \u201cConor lives a certain lifestyle that we\u2019ve all seen, and you can kind of tell that it\u2019s not for show; it\u2019s really his lifestyle.<\/p>\n \u201cMax lives a completely different lifestyle. I\u2019ve never seen Max at a club drunk, you never seen him in the headlines for anything bad. That guy lives a different life where he\u2019s gym, family, gym, family, gym, family.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s gonna pay the biggest dividends. Cause you can be away from the sport for five years and come back like nothing happened, if you live that life.\u201d <\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/p>\n \u2018You OK?\u2019: Forgotten moment of sportsmanship, sign Conor McGregor was megastar in making when icons first met<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779017096_680_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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