UFC lightweight king Ilia Topuria and boxing bad boy Ryan Garcia have launched into a fiery social media feud overnight.
The war of words erupted after Topuria again floated the idea of crossing over into boxing following his enormous success in the Octagon.
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Never shy about chasing the biggest fights possible, the unbeaten Spanish superstar has repeatedly spoken about wanting blockbuster opportunities outside of the UFC.
Garcia, however, believes MMA fighters should stick to what they know best.
“El Matador”, who is set to headline the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House, recently told Spanish journalist Alvaro Colmenaro that he would “break” Garcia if the pair ever squared off in a boxing ring.
Unsurprisingly, the WBC welterweight champ wasn’t impressed by the comments.
“You are a damn good striker for MMA that’s it,” Garcia wrote on Twitter.
“You wouldn’t be sipping on tea after our fight you would be eating through a straw after our fight. Stay in your lane. I’ll gladly stay in mine.”
Topuria returned fire by saying he’d beat Garcia’s next opponent, Conor Benn.
“You built your name on hype, I built mine by putting legends to sleep. I would give you a boxing lesson, we are not on the same level,” he wrote.
“Bring the guy you fight in September, I would beat both of you in the same ring.”
The beef continued with Garcia dubbing the UFC star a “hype job”.
“I built my name sleeping guys that are way better boxers then you will ever be,” Garcia said.
“You’ve seen many MMA fighters try and you’ll just be another UFC hype job cashing out by getting knocked out by a boxer.”
Topuria then decided to bring up Garcia’s failed drug test after he fought Devin Haney in 2024.
“The biggest win of your career came with steroids,” Topuria said. “So that’s where your confidence comes from? Interesting.”
Garcia fired back with a broad swipe at MMA fighters and hinted that they could square off at some point.
“Aren’t mma fighters notorious for all being on the juice – shut your ass up – now that you can’t stop talking we can really do this after my fight in sept just to FLATLINE YOU.”
Topuria has become one of the UFC’s biggest attractions after knockout wins over Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, while Garcia remains one of boxing’s most marketable names.
Of course, Conor McGregor was the last reigning UFC champ allowed to step outside the promotion for a boxing super fight, taking on Floyd Mayweather in their blockbuster 2017 crossover bout.
Meanwhile, UFC legend Dustin Poirier has outlined exactly what Justin Gaethje needs to do if he hopes to upset Topuria in the UFC Freedom 250 headliner.
Gaethje, who claimed the interim lightweight title with a win over Paddy Pimblett in January, heads into the unification clash as a sizeable underdog.
Poirier believes “The Highlight” must deliver a perfect performance to dethrone the champ.
“It’s not that I’m rooting against him or anything, I just think it’s a tough stylistic matchup for him,” Poirier said in an appearance on Deep Waters.
“If he’s loose with the big punches he throws, Ilia is so tight, combinations are short and clean. Gaethje just has to clean it up a little bit and like I said in the past, Gaethje has said this leading up to fights, ‘I have to be perfect.’
“This fight he has to be perfect because Topuria is so dangerous.”
Poirier also urged Gaethje to use the devastating leg kicks that have troubled opponents throughout his career.
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“He [Gaethje] tore my legs up. He tore Chandler’s. He’s done it to a lot of people,” Poirier said.
“Everything he throws is 100 percent. He can knock him out if he can get Ilia to brawl.
“But he has to set up those leg kicks. He can’t throw them dry, like empty leg kicks like that.”