"He clearly sees his younger self in him" - Fans believe Conor McGregor's latest snub to Ilia Topuria exposes Irishman's "jealous" side

Conor McGregor appears to have fired another shot at Ilia Topuria amid their intense war of words. Certain sections of the combat sports community reacted by suggesting that McGregor's latest snub to 'El Matador' could be rooted in jealousy.

The Georgian-Spaniard Topuria is the current UFC featherweight champion. He's consistently indicated that he'd like to headline a UFC event in Spain, ideally in a soccer stadium.

Topuria had previously expressed interest in fighting former two-division champion McGregor at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain. However, he later implied he wasn't interested in fighting McGregor because of the latter's supposed lack of commitment to fighting and alleged alcohol and substance abuse.

McGregor recently put forth a tweet, which was later deleted, suggesting that Topuria would be unable to sell out a stadium event:

"He wouldn't sell it also. No chance."

Some fans deemed that McGregor was envious of Topuria. One netizen labeled Topuria as McGregor's replacement as the UFC's top star rather than Ian Machado Garry and Sean O'Malley:

"Jealous of his actual replacement not those clown clones like Ian and O'Malley"

Some observers referenced the Irishman's alleged substance abuse issues. A fan called for McGregor vs. Topuria:

"those are "fighting words" would love to see this happen!"

Multiple commenters disagreed with McGregor over Topuria's stadium sell-out potential. One X user wrote:

"I believe he does."

Others implied that Topuria is Spain's top MMA fighter and could sell out a stadium show there. Another fan jibed at McGregor over his supposed boxing match against Logan Paul or Jake Paul:

"Conor it's 2025 ur doin boxin matches with the Paul's it's over ilia runs mma now"

One netizen speculated that McGregor hates Topuria because the latter reminds him of his younger self:

"He constantly hates on Ilia. He clearly sees his younger self in him. And wishes he never let it slip."

Check out screenshots of a few reactions below:

Screenshots of tweets

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Conor McGregor vs. Ilia Topuria: Is a potential grudge match feasible in 2025?

Ireland's Conor McGregor has long reigned as MMA's biggest box office draw. McGregor, a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, hasn't competed in any professional combat sports contest since July 2021.

The Irishman has lately maintained that he could face WWE superstar and YouTuber Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match organized by the Ambani Family in India in 2025. It's currently unclear whom he'll fight. Meanwhile, in late 2024, UFC CEO and president Dana White signaled that McGregor's UFC return could materialize in late 2025.

Ilia Topuria has lately been pursuing a fight against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, but the consensus is that he'll likely be booked to defend his featherweight title next. Topuria has often indicated that he went from admiring to condemning McGregor. 'El Matador' has often accused him of betraying his martial arts values and letting the pitfalls of a lavish lifestyle hurt his fighting career.

McGregor and Topuria seem headed on different paths. Also, McGregor was training for a welterweight bout in 2024, reflecting the weight differential element in their feud. Their war of words notwithstanding, the current landscape indicates that a potential McGregor-Topuria grudge match is unlikely to materialize anytime soon.