Conor McGregor Gives Tough Love to Ilia Topuria as Arman Tsarukyan Mocks ‘El Matador’ After UFC Freedom 250

Ilia Topuria losing to Justin Gaethje has drawn reactions from Conor McGregor and Arman Tsarukyan after UFC Freedom 250.

Conor McGregor Gives Tough Love to Ilia Topuria as Arman Tsarukyan Mocks ‘El Matador’ After UFC Freedom 250

Conor McGregor and Arman Tsarukyan troll Ilia Topuria for losing to Justin Gaethje [via MMA Fighting, YouTube, and Instagram]

Ilia Topuria losing to Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 was a monumental upset. Many have claimed it to be the biggest upset in UFC title fight history. After all, the Spaniard was a massive favorite to retain his title at the White House. As such, he was criticized by rivals like Conor McGregor and Arman Tsarukyan, following the shocking defeat to the ‘Highlight.’

McGregor was among the first ones to take the opportunity to mock the Spaniard . Despite the 29-year-old claiming to have been a fan of and influenced by the Irishman, their relationship turned sour quickly once the prospect of a potential fight began to form. Ever since, the two have shared a complicated relationship, throwing shots at each other in interviews and social media.

As such, in an unsurprising turn of events immediately following El Matador’s loss, the first-ever simultaneous UFC double champion took to social media to troll Topuria for losing his undefeated record and lightweight title to Gaethje. Immediately after the fight was called off when Topuria was unable to make it into the 5th round, McGregor took to X to put out a cryptic tweet.

While McGregor chose to troll the 29-year-old with a cryptic tweet, Arman Tsarukyan was much less subtle with his dig. When Ilia Topuria was given around an extra time after the third round owing to some confusion within the medical staff, the Armenian was quick to make waves about it on social media.

So we’re giving extra minute to recover now lol?

Arman Tsarukyan via X

He followed up this post with one after the fight had ended. ‘Ahalkalakets’ compared the end of Topuria’s shocking loss to the infamous ‘No Mas’ incident involving legendary boxer Roberto Duran.

Ilia “no mas” Topuria.

Arman Tsarukyan via X

Tsarukyan and the former featherweight have been at each other’s throats for quite some time now. They have exchanged heated rants, several accusations of inauthenticity, and incessant trash talk online despite never being booked to fight each other. The animosity between them was on clear display as the Armenian even bet $1 million on Justin Gaethje upsetting the Spanish-Georgian.

As such, the intent behind Tsarukyan’s post was immediately apparent. In contrast, McGregor and his two-word X post are more cryptic in nature. However, a follow-up post from the Irish phenom may have given some clarity.

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Conor McGregor claims Ilia Topuria will be stronger when he returns

Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor’s relationship cannot be boiled down to a simple rivalry. For starters, the Spaniard has clearly taken several pages from McGregor’s playbook over the years. Even his back tattooo appears to be inspired by the Irishman’s own tattoos. ‘El Matador’ has even been trolled for this by Arman Tsarukyan.

Conor McGregopr, Ilia Topuria
Conor McGregor addresses Ilia Topuria’s loss to Justin Gaethje [via Bleacher Reporter and Instagram]

For his part, the 37-year-old has rarely missed a chance to troll the recently dethroned lightweight champion. The aforementioned two-word X post, while cryptic, is still a prime example of this. However, in a subsequent post the Irish superstar seemed to console his rival while also trolling him for quitting.

He quit himself. Sad to see. He earned a nice stripe however tainted, he will get stronger from this beating. What a sport!

Conor McGregor on X

Fans in the comments section of the post were quick to remind McGregor about the time he ‘quit’ against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Of course, the situations are vastly different with the Road House star tapping out to a face crank in the 4th round whereas Topuria ended the round before the fight itself was stopped.

All in all, Ilia Topuria’s first-ever MMA loss has presented his rivals with some prime fuel to mock him. That said, Conor McGregor won’t have much time to concern himself with Topuria given he has a fight coming up against Max Holloway next month. However, if he manages to get past the Hawaiian, a fight between the former double champions could be on the cards.

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