Ilia Topuria hits back at Cristiano Ronaldo in backhanded social media post – after the Portuguese star accused the UFC champion of ‘talking too much’
UFC star Ilia Topuria addressed Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent comments about him
Ronaldo claimed the undefeated featherweight champion ‘talks too much’
However, Topuria was able to back up his talk after his title fight win last month
Ilia Topuria has taken to social media to respond to comments made by Cristiano Ronaldo prior to his victory over Max Holloway.
Ronaldo is an avid combat sports fan and was pictured in Francis Ngannou’s dressing room last month as the former UFC champion made his return to MMA.
As Ngannou prepared for his clash with Renan Ferreira at PFL’s Battle of the Giants, Ronaldo was filmed chatting with the Predator and his head coach Eric Nicksick.
Speaking prior to Topuria’s first UFC title defence, Ronaldo claimed the Spaniard ‘talks too much’ and that Alexander Volkanovski was compromised prior to his defeat to Topuria at UFC 298.
‘I like Max, he’s a tough guy,’ Ronaldo said. ‘[Topuria] speaks too much.’
Ronaldo also claimed that Max Holloway would defeat the Spaniard at UFC 308 last week
The UFC featherweight champion included subtle shots in his response on social media
He added: ‘I think when he beat Volk [Alexander Volkanovski], Volk wasn’t [ready] because of that kick [from Islam Makhachev], didn’t recover.’
‘But [Topuria] didn’t fight with the top guys,’ Ronaldo also said. ‘If he beats Max, I will respect [him]. Never KO, this is why [Max] will be tough for Topuria.’
After the clip was widely circulated online, Topuria hit back, claiming the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was ‘unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance.’
He wrote: ‘I didn’t expect someone like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance.
‘But, at the end of the day, we all reflect our own reality onto others. I wish you the best for what remains of your career, and God bless your family.’
Despite Ronaldo picking him to suffer his first career defeat, Topuria produced an incredible performance against Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 last weekend.
Topuria celebrated his victory over Holloway with Ronaldo’s former team-mate, Sergio Ramos
After finding his range in the opening rounds, Topuria began to make good use of his boxing skills on the inside, repeatedly tagging the former champion.
In the third round his momentum continued to build, and Topuria dropped his opponent with a short left hook before following up with a barrage of strikes on the ground to claim victory.
The stoppage marked the first KO loss of Holloway’s vaunted career in MMA, and saw Topuria extend his record to a perfect 16-0.
After securing the victory the Real Madrid superfan was joined in the Octagon by none other than Ronaldo’s former Los Blancos team-mate, Sergio Ramos.
