Yair Rodriguez slams “delusional” Ilia Topuria, claims his career will be “over” after UFC 298

Yair Rodriguez is not a fan of Ilia Topuria, and he expects the Spaniard-Georgian to lose on Saturday at UFC 298.

Topuria is set to headline UFC 298 on Saturday as he takes on Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title. It’s an intriguing matchup and in the lead-up to the scrap, Topuria has been full of confidence that he will beat Volkanovski with ease to become the champ.

Along with his confidence, Topuria has also taken shots at the rest of the featherweight division, including Yair Rodriguez which the Mexican doesn’t take too kindly.

“He’s f*****g delusional. He’s not even f*****g in the same world as us. Another f*****g planet. I’m pretty sure Volkanovski is going to do the first job in f****** him up and then he’s going to have to eat all of these words and everybody is going to be f*****g laughing at him, I can assure you of that… I never gave a f**k about the guy until he started f*****g talking shit about me. I didn’t really pay attention to him, but this is the name of the sport,” Rodriguez said on The MMA Hour.

“You talk about somebody that is better known than you in the sport, and then you start becoming more known. That’s what he’s doing. Let’s be honest about this, because this is not a secret. He will talk shit about whoever. He’s mentioning Canelo, he’s mentioning McGregor, why do you think he’s doing that? It’s marketing. He will never get to fight somebody like McGregor, he will never get to face somebody like Canelo. Of course not,” Yair Rodriguez continued about Ilia Topuria.

Although Yair Rodriguez is not a fan of Ilia Topuria, he doesn’t think the title challenger will be a factor past Saturday night. Rodriguez expects Volkanovski to beat Topuria and that will end his career.

“His career will be over after this fight against Volkanovski. He’s been talking so much shit, saying so many things, and people are going to be f*****g laughing at him after this,” Rodriguez said.

As for Yair Rodriguez, he is set to take on Brian Ortega in the co-main event of UFC Mexico City on Feb. 24. Should he win that, perhaps a fight with Ilia Topuria can happen next time out.