UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has continued his war of words with Cristiano Ronaldo with an x-rated comment.
Born in Germany to Georgian parents, Topuria moved to Spain during his childhood and became a Real Madrid fan during Ronaldo's brilliant nine-year spell in the Spanish capital.
In February, Topuria became Spain's first UFC champion when he dramatically dethroned long-reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski via second-round KO.
The 27-year-old then enjoyed a parade at the Bernabeu, where more than 75,000 fans turned out to celebrate his victory.
However, speaking ahead of Topuria's first title defense, MMA fan Ronaldo claimed the Spaniard 'talks too much' and that Alexander Volkanovski was compromised ahead of the clash at UFC 298.
“I like Max, he's a tough guy,” Ronaldo said. '[Topuria] speaks too much.'
He added: “I think when he beat Volk [Alexander Volkanovski]People don't [ready] because of that kick [from Islam Makhachev]did not recover.'
'But [Topuria] I didn't fight with the top guys,” Ronaldo also said.
'If he beats Max, I will respect that [him]. Never KO, here's why [Max] will be difficult for Topuria.”
After the clip was widely circulated online, Topuria responded in a thinly veiled dig on social media, claiming the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was “unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance.”
He wasn't done with that, though, as Topuria continued the war of words in no uncertain terms in a recent interview, while also inviting Ronaldo's old rival, Lionel Messi, to his next fight.
“I saw a clip where he said I'm just talking,” Topuria told El Partidazo de Cope.
'Cristiano, he always has something to say. I'm going to invite Messi personally, because he lives there.'
Topuria also indicated he would like to move up to 155 pounds for his next fight, and mentioned a former champion as a potential opponent.
“I would like to fight the number one contender, Charles Oliveira. We have Messi, Ronaldo can fuck himself.'
While Topuria is clearly not fond of the former Real Madrid star, the same cannot be said for any of Ronaldo's former teammates in the all-conquering Los Blancos team.
As he prepared for his first title defense in October, Sergio Ramos made a prominent appearance and even joined him in the cage after becoming the first man to KO UFC legend Max Holloway.
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