There are several two-division champions in UFC history but there’s just one Conor McGregor.
Since his rise to the highest, former UFC Featherweight and current UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria has been in comparison with Conor McGregor on many occasions.
Sporting similar tattoos because the Irish superstar, Topuria has followed within the footsteps of McGregor by stealing Alexander Volkanovski’s belt at a press conference, going 7-0 within the featherweight division before leaving and winning the identical titles with masterful knockouts.
Following his UFC 317 knockout of Charles Oliveira, his third former/current champion in a row, the heavy-handed Topuria has been touted to have an excellent higher ceiling than superstar McGregor.
Nevertheless, a legendary lightweight says McGregor still has Topuria beat in a single key area.
Frankie Edgar says Ilia Topuria can’t talk like Conor McGregor
Years before Topuria entered the UFC, ‘The Notorious’ took the game by storm.
Not only did McGregor knock out his opponents, but he called the round he said he was going to do it in. McGregor saw massive popularity after he knocked out all-time great Jose Aldo in 13 seconds for the fastest knockout in title fight history.
McGregor’s considered among the best, if not, the very best trash talker in MMA, selling tens of millions of pay-per-views along with his personality and antics.
On the subject of Topuria, former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar said:
“There won’t ever be one other Conor,” Edgar stated on The Champ and The Tramp Podcast.
“That’s my take. Simply because it’s not arrange. Like, [McGregor] did it already. That’s why it’s not gonna occur again.
“Paddy’s more like Conor than Ilia is like Conor,” Edgar said of Paddy Pimblett.
“Because Ilia, he tries, he says some funny stuff. He’s not nearly as good as Conor. Conor’s special dude. Chael Sonnen was special. If Chael lived as much as every part he said. He can be the largest star by far.
“Conor also steps over the f—— line, in my mind,” Edgar added.
Frankie Edgar admits Ilia Topuria’s haters ‘have a degree’
Topuria silenced many doubters along with his KO of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 but there’s still an ongoing narrative that the UFC Champion is competing against fighters who’re past their prime.
Retired for nearly three years now, Edgar can understand where the criticism is coming from.
“He’s living as much as the hype,” Edgar said of Topuria.
“He’s saying what he was gonna do and going on the market and doing it.
“But, there’s at all times the people who are gonna say some s— and hate on him… They usually do have a degree too,” Edgar continued.
“He beat a 36-year-old Volkanovski. He beat Holloway, coming off a tough ass weight cut because he’s at 155, went back all the way down to 145. Volk coming off a head kick knockout. And he just fought a 35, almost 36-year-old Oliveira. You recognize the stats, right, with the 35-year-old [curse]?”
The overwhelming majority of fighters over the age of 35 are inclined to lose in UFC title fights 170 lbs or lower.