Ilia Topuria hits back at Cristiano Ronaldo in backhanded social media post – after the Portuguese star accused the UFC champion of ‘talking too much’

Ilia Topuria has taken to social media to respond to comments made by Cristiano Ronaldo prior to his clash with Max Holloway.

Ronaldo is an avid combat sports fan, and was pictured in Francis Ngannou’s dressing room as the former UFC champion made his return to MMA with the PFL last month.

As Ngannou prepared for his clash with Renan Ferreira, Ronaldo was filmed chatting with the Predator and his head coach, renowned MMA trainer Eric Nicksick.

Speaking prior to Topuria’s first UFC title defence, Ronaldo claimed the Spaniard ‘talks too much’ and that Alexander Volkanovski was compromised prior to his defeat to Topuria at UFC 298.

After the clip was widely circulated online, Topuria hit back, claiming the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was ‘unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance.’

Ilia Topuria has hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo after the Al-Nassr captain claimed he talks too much

Ronaldo also claimed that Max Holloway would defeat the Spaniard at UFC 308 last week

The UFC featherweight champion included multiple subtle shots in his response on social media

He wrote: ‘I didn’t expect someone like you to be unable to distinguish between confidence and arrogance. 

‘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.’

Despite Ronaldo picking him to suffer his first career defeat, Topuria produced an incredible performance against Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 last weekend.

After finding his range in the opening rounds, Topuria began to make good use of his boxing skills on the inside, repeatedly tagging the former champion.

In the third round his momentum continued to build, and Topuria dropped his opponent with a short left hook before following up with a barrage of strikes on the ground to claim victory.

Topuria celebrated his victory over Holloway with Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid team-mate, Sergio Ramos

The stoppage marked the first KO loss of Holloway’s vaunted career in MMA, and saw Topuria extend his record to a perfect 16-0.

After securing the victory the Real Madrid superfan was joined in the Octagon by none other than Ronaldo’s former Los Blancos team-mate, Sergio Ramos.