Ilia Topuria pushes UFC into a corner, Joe Rogan sympathizes with Rachel Zegler, Conor McGregor given reality check: MMA News Roundup

Ilia Topuria has cleverly put the ball into the UFC's court regarding the Islam Makhachev fight, says an MMA analyst. Elsewhere, Conor McGregor's presidential aspirations are mocked by his fellow fighters.

Here are today's top combat sports updates, presented by Sportskeeda MMA.

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Ilia Topuria's "masterclass" has pushed the UFC into a corner

Former MMA fighter-turned-analyst Josh Thomson recently weighed in on Ilia Topuria's comments about the UFC promising him a title fight at lightweight.

Topuria said at the WOW 17 press conference that the UFC brass has given him their word that his next fight would have the belt on the line. He vacated the featherweight strap based on this promise, Topuria added.

Thomson believes this is a stroke of genius from Topuria to put the ball in the promotion's court and a great strategy to potentially secure a fight with Islam Makhachev. He said on the WEIGHING IN podcast:

"It's a masterclass what Ilia [Topuria] did here. ... I mean that's putting the ball in the UFC's court, saying, 'Hey, you guys have made it public and you guys have always kept your promise.' And that's painting them into a corner saying, 'Sh*t, we need to deliver.' And if they don't deliver, then they've broken their promise."

Thomson added that tactics aside, Topuria has a strong enough resume to deserve the fight simply based on merit.

Listen to Josh Thomson's comments below (14:57):

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Joe Rogan sympathizes with Rachel Zegler over 'Snow White' fiasco

Joe Rogan called out Disney executives over the backlash Rachel Zegler is getting for the box office failure of Snow White on a recent episode of his podcast.

Discussing the matter with comedian and podcast guest Kurt Metzger, the UFC commentator said on episode #2298 of The Joe Rogan Experience that while Zegler may not have been the best pick for the movie, she cannot be entirely blamed for it.

Metzger said:

"If you notice the spin on it, they’re putting it all on her. I mean, I’m sure she sucks, but she is very young. She didn’t write that script, though, right? And I don’t think she made the ‘no dwarves’ decision, that was Sir Peter Dinklage."

After watching a clip of the movie, Rogan laughed and said that it doesn't "look real" and joked that Elon Musk's DOGE should look into its $250 million budget. He added:

"Imagine you spent $250 million, and you get some young girl, and you don’t kind of talk to her about like, ‘Hey, you know, don’t get political. You’re young, and I know you have opinions about things, but this should be just about the movie."

The controversy surrounding Snow White stems from Zegler criticizing the original 1937 movie and speaking in support of Palestine during media interviews.

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Conor McGregor given a reality check about becoming the Irish president

Conor McGregor's presidential aspirations are being laughed at by his UFC peers. While the fighter is seemingly serious about running for office in his country and has even visited Donald Trump at the White House, his fellow UFC double champion, Daniel Cormier, believes it is a "ridiculous" attempt at staying relevant.

Cormier said on a recent episode of Good Guy/ Bad Guy:

"He [Conor McGregor] wants to be a politician. Hell, I think people in Ireland don’t even like him. Everybody I speak to is like, ‘I can’t stand this dude.’ But I guess he feels like he has enough support to go into politics. ... The politics angle, for me, is a little bit ridiculous."

His co-host Sonnen agreed and labeled McGregor a "narcissist" who is talking about going into politics to get attention online.

Take a look at Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen's comments on Conor McGregor below (6:15):