Dana White, head of the UFC, is having flashbacks with Ilia Topuria of what happened with Conor McGregor back in 2017. At that time, ‘The Notorious’ had become the first simultaneous double champion in the UFC, and it was then that he decided to make the leap to boxing to face Floyd Mayweather, the biggest superstar in contact sports. That fight remains one of the biggest in history at a media level, but in turn it was the beginning of the end for Conor. Now it is ‘El Matador’ who wants to make the leap to boxing,and he is confident that he will convince the boss to carry it out.
There is no doubt that Topuria is the biggest UFC superstar. Pound-for-pound number one, the company’s first undefeated double champion… In addition, he has been embroiled in a rivalry with Terrence Crawford that confirms his intentions to make the jump to boxing. ‘Bud’ is also the pound-for-pound number one in his sport, and is coming off a win last Saturday over Canelo Alvarez. While Ilia believes he would knock out the American, Crawford has been disparaging ‘El Matador’ and saying he doesn’t know who he is.
It’s something I want to do and I don’t think Dana will tell me that she doesn’t want to help me fulfill my dream
White was asked about this issue, and confessed that he hopes Topuria will not do so at this time. However, at the WOW 22 press conference, Ilia stated that he believes they will eventually reach an agreement to fulfill another of his dreams. “Will Dana support me to box? It’s something I want to do and I don’t think he’ll tell me he doesn’t want to help me fulfill my dream. I’ll have his support, no doubt about it. It’s hard to convince him, but I’m sure it will work out,” he replied.
Topuria’s current motivation in MMA is to become a triple champion. Beyond that, according to his business vision, he has already done everything necessary in both featherweight and lightweight. That’s why he wants to try new challenges that will keep him hungry to make history. The statistics are not encouraging, as MMA fighters who make the jump to boxing do not usually have good results, but he would become an infinitely more relevant public figure.
McGregor 2.0?
In McGregor’s case, the fight against Mayweather was a turning point in his life. If he was already the biggest superstar in the UFC, he took his figure to another level. He also did so economically. However, on a sporting level it was a burden. Conor had it all, except for the motivation, which he lost after he got out of that ring. After two years away from MMA, ‘The Notorious’ returned to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in the biggest fight in the history of the discipline and was easily submitted by his arch-enemy.
Conor began to make headlines for his off-field scandals rather than his performances in the octagon, and since that fight against ‘The Eagle’ he has fought only three more times to date. Two losses and one win. In his last appearance in 2021, McGregor suffered a serious leg injury during his trilogy with Dustin Poirier, which, along with other factors, has kept him out of the octagon for more than four years.
After several feints of a return, it seems that Conor will finally reappear in 2026, for the card that the UFC intends to hold at the White House. When his fight against Floyd took place, the Irishman was 29 years old, so it is unknown what would have happened to ‘The Notorious’ MMA career without making that decision. Therefore, considering that Topuria has said on several occasions that he wants to retire young, it would not be strange for White to ask him for patience before making the jump to boxing in order not to repeat mistakes of the past.
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