By Bloody Elbow,Jamie Theodosi

Copyright yardbarker

Ilia Topuria could follow Conor McGregor down a path to destruction

Ever since the Spaniard has grown in popularity, he has consistently drawn comparisons to former UFC double champion, Conor McGregor, with some being self constructed.

‘The Notorious’ became the biggest star in combat sports for a reason. His untouchable confidence along with the fact that a touch on his opponent’s chin with his left hand could put them to sleep saw him reach levels unimaginable in MMA.

As he rapidly began outgrowing the sport of MMA and the UFC, McGregor opted to make history when he crossed over to boxing in 2017 to take on Floyd Mayweather.

This, though, was the beginning of McGregor’s downfall in the UFC.

After dedicating so much of his time to the craft of boxing ahead of his fight against Mayweather, when he returned to the UFC over a year later, he was never the same fighter.

His loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov could be explained as Khabib was a freak of nature in his own right. However, his future losses to Dustin Poirier showcased that it wasn’t just a matter of age catching up to him.

Fame and what he’d already accomplished in the sport got to his head, which is something that seemed impossible with McGregor as he was truly a student of the game. The Irishman even shifted styles in the Octagon, going away from his iconic karate-like style in exchange for a more boxing heavy approach.

And unfortunately, it seems as though Topuria could be walking the same tightrope.

Time and time again we have seen in the UFC that when a fighter’s focus shifts to something outside of what is in front of them, things come crashing down. And Topuria seems to be locked and loaded on boxing champ, Terence Crawford.