"Any of them would take the belt" - Fans react as Brian Ortega tops betting odds to be Ilia Topuria’s first title defense over Alexander Volkanovski 

Fans recently expressed their thoughts on Brian Ortega being the favorite for Ilia Topuria's first title defense.

Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round to win the UFC featherweight title at UFC 298 earlier this month. 'El Matador's' first title defense is expected to go down in Spain later this year.

Ortega is coming off a win over former interim featherweight titleholder Yair Rodríguez at UFC Mexico City. According to BetOnline's opening odds, 'T-City' is the betting favorite to face Topuria in his first defense of his new UFC featherweight title.

Ortega started with +150 odds, meaning a $100 wager would yield a $150 profit if he got the next title shot. Volkanovski (+200) is behind Ortega, as are leading contenders Movsar Evloev (+425), Max Holloway (+600), and Yair Rodriguez (+900). Former UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor (+2500) was also listed as a longshot choice.

Fans soon rushed to the comments section to share their reactions.

One fan wrote:

''Any of them would take the belt lol''

Another fan wrote:

''Ideally, if Volk was taking some time off, Ortega vs Evlovev should be ideal in a title elimination bout''

One fan stated that Sean O'Malley should be next in line, writing:

''No line on O’Malley? That’s who’s really next if he beats chito''

Check out more reactions below:

Screenshot of fan reactions to Chamatkar Sandhu's post on Instagram

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Ilia Topuria issues challenge to Conor McGregor

Ilia Topuria challenged Conor McGregor after his shocking second-round knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski to win the UFC featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 298. He declared that he would wait for 'The Notorious' to face him in Spain.

According to McGregor's own statements, he plans to make his long-awaited return to action this year. However, due to the lack of official confirmation from the UFC, the Irishman has yet to be assigned a return date.

At the post-fight press conference, Topuria doubled down on his challenge, saying the weight class doesn't matter:

“Who said that I wanna fight him at 145? Without any weight limit. There is no weight if I fight him. He can choose it. I give him that option. If he feels that he’s ready for this level of competition, he can choose the weight. I choose the place.''

Check out Ilia Topuria's call-out below: