Ilia Topuria eyeing former featherweight title challenger as next opponent

Ilia Topuria recently reiterated his desire to face Brian Ortega as his next opponent after calling out the American in his post-fight interview at UFC 282.

'El Matador' put on a stunning display of dominance against Bryce Mitchell in the opening fight of the pay-per-view event as he submitted 'Thug Nasty' in the second round of their bout. He then proceeded to call out 'T-City' for a matchup in Madrid if the UFC didn't want to give him a title shot yet.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Topuria once again stated his desire to face 'T-City' on his home turf:

"I would love to focus on my weight class. I would love to face Brian Ortega. He never turned down a fight so now I want my manager to make an offer to his team... It's a fight that makes sense for him because in case he gets a win against me... It's going to put him in the talks for a title shot and the same for me."

Watch Ilia Topuria's full interview below:

Brian Ortega is currently on a two-fight losing streak and is recovering from the dislocated shoulder he sustained in his previous fight against Yair Rodriguez in July earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria will have propelled himself into the featherweight top-ten rankings with his dominant performance against Mitchell at UFC 282. The Georgian-Spanish fighter maintains his perfect 13-0-0 MMA record and has finished four of his last five opponents in the UFC.

Watch the video below:

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Ilia Topuria claims Paddy Pimblett was gifted his win against Jared Gordon at UFC 282

Ilia Topuria did not concur with the judges' scorecards for the Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon bout and expressed his thoughts regarding the controversial unanimous decision victory for the Liverpudlian.

The animosity that Pimblett and Topuria have for each other is no secret. Stemming from some insensitive comments that Pimblett made about Topuria's native Georgia, the two had to be restrained by security at the UFC 282 pre-fight press conference when their trash talk almost resulted in an altercation.

Catch their heated exchange in the video below:

It comes as no surprise that 'El Matador' joined in with many other fighters to express his disappointment about Pimblett's decision victory. Speaking at the post-fight presser, Topuria said:

"They gave him a Christmas gift right now. Because he clearly lost the fight. I don't think anyone will disagree with me in this room... Jared won all three rounds. He [Pimblett] didn't win any round... If he crosses my way, then we're gonna put his head like Bryce’s head tonight."

Watch Ilia Topuria at the post-fight presser below: