Conor McGregor has been described as a unicorn on several occasions. A once-in-a-lifetime athlete who completely transforms the sport they compete in, but his short-lived time at the top has caught the attention of rising star Ilia Topuria.
‘El Matador’ has had a similar rise as the Irishman, dominating any contender that stood between him and the featherweight strap—and, of course, predicting his victories along the way. Unfortunately for ‘The Notorious’, many believe he caused his own demise during his heights in the sport and his downfall is now being brought into question.
During a recent interview, Ilia Topuria revealed that Conor McGregor inspired him to become the fighter he is today, though he knows the former two-division UFC champion isn’t who he used to be.
“I know he’s not what he [once] was,” Topuria said. “He is a McGregor who represents alcohol and drugs more than sport.”
“I was inspired by Conor. He was an inspiration for me when I was young. Myself and a lot of other people I know wanted to follow in his footsteps because he was an example of faith that everything can be achieved through [hard] work, consistency, effort.”
“And he lost all of that because he betrayed the values that led him to all [of] his success.”
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Topuria’s love for McGregor has since soured.
The current featherweight king believes that the 36-year-old’s actions away from the octagon caused the sport to lose one of its biggest figures.
“It’s clear where we are talking about, right? A guy that nowadays doesn’t represent the values that he used to represent years ago.”
“We lost an idol.”