Ilia Topuria didn’t have the most positive experience meeting Conor McGregor, largely due to the energy and body language he perceived during their interaction. Topuria shared his thoughts during a resurfaced clip from The Wild Project podcast, where he reflected on the time they both fought at UFC 264.
At the event, McGregor headlined the card against Dustin Poirier but suffered a gruesome leg break in the first round. Meanwhile, Topuria delivered an impressive first-round KO victory over Ryan Hall. Despite their contrasting outcomes, Topuria recalled an unsettling vibe from McGregor.
“Super bad vibes,” Topuria described (H/T to MMA Mania). “Look, analyzing people as human beings, let’s look at Conor. A guy, his wife, his children, his family. I can’t give an opinion. I don’t know how these people are. He might be an excellent person, and I perceived his energy in a different way from what it is. He simply came to work, put on a show.
“But the feeling I had when he was around was, ‘Keep him away!’ Keep him away. Because you can be Conor McGregor and act however you want, but no one is above me, only God, you know what I’m saying? Congratulations on your career, I respect it. But don’t tell me a thing because I’ll take your head off.”
Topuria went on to describe McGregor’s aura as something he had never encountered before:
“Just a terrible energy. I swear it felt like his aura came from hell. I wanted to be away from this dude, he had a black energy I have never felt before. Agustin, my trainer, he’s a very spiritual guy. He’s very careful with the energies. He said, ‘This dude is gonna lose badly and split.’ He broke his leg that night. He brought an energy of hell, you know what I’m saying?”
Since that fateful night at UFC 264, McGregor has yet to return to competition, now over three and a half years later. In contrast, Topuria has continued to rise in the UFC, recently defending his Featherweight Championship against former champion Max Holloway.
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