Cristiano Ronaldo has been a fan of combat sports for a long time and often shows up ringside at fights to soak up the spotlight and support his favorite fighters.
He’s also been known to talk about combat sports at times, and his opinions — like those of any popular public figure — can sometimes be divisive.
Recently, he caught the ire of a rising UFC star who decided to make his frustration known after Ronaldo picked against him prior to his main event clash.
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27-year-old UFC fighter and featherweight champion Ilia Topuria took down Max Holloway in the UFC 308 main event on October 26, serving up Holloway’s first-ever knockout defeat of his career.
It was a groundbreaking win for Topuria, who retained the UFC featherweight title, while simultaneously forcing Holloway to depart the featherweight division altogether following the defeat.
Ronaldo was then left red-faced after a PFL video from before the fight made the rounds of Ronaldo picking Max to win, saying that Topuria “speaks too much,” and chalked up Topuria’s win over Alexander Volkanovski in February to his opinion that, “Volk wasn’t [ready] because of that kick.”
Once Topuria won the fight against Holloway, the Georgian-Spanish fighter took the chance to rub it in Ronaldo’s face.
Sharing the video on his social media feed, Topuria shared his own thoughts. “I didn’t expect someone like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance,” Topuria wrote. “But, at the end of the day, we all reflect our own reality onto others. I wish you the best for what remains of your career, and God bless your family.”
The response gains extra juice with the added context that Topuria is a huge Real Madrid fan and, thus, would have been predisposed to back Ronaldo if given the chance. Just eight months prior, Topuria took the ceremonial kickoff at the Bernabeu prior to Real Madrid’s league match against Sevilla.
Thus, his frustration with Ronaldo’s views of his fight must have been significant to fire back at a legend of his favorite club.
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