Ilia Topuria has confirmed Max Hollowayās BMF title wonāt be up for grabs in the UFC 308 main event, and heās accepting of that.
Before the matchup between Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) was signed and official for the Oct. 26 headliner at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, the reigning featherweight champion said he wanted the BMF strap, which āBlessedā won with an epic fifth-round finish of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, to be at stake.
But then the negotiations happened, and Topuria said the conclusion was reached that his belt will be the only one wrapped around the winner on fight night.
āNo, the BMF title is not going to be on the line,ā Topuria told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. āTo be honest, I donāt care. They took that decision and at the end of the day itās like, when Iām going to beat him he canāt say heās a BMF or however they want to call him. Iām just concentrating on my title defense and thatās it. I donāt care about anything else.ā
Topuria refused to hypothesize exactly why the BMF belt was put to the side for this fight. He said it was a promotional decision, and once it was made he shifted his focus on the contest itself.
The confidence from Topuria since he won the featherweight title with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February has been unmatched, and he said immediately post-fight that he would be the first to knock out Holloway in MMA competition.
Topuria isnāt backing down from that prediction, and in fact, heās doubling down on it.
āNo doubt about that,ā Topuria said. āWhat makes me so excited about this fight is that no one could knock him out. Thereās no way Iām not going to knock him out. I will be the first one to knock him out because every time I watch him fight Iām like, āIām way better than him.ā If you put me with him in kickboxing or boxing, even in a chess match, I beat him. Whatever you want to do, boy, I can beat you.
āI respect Max Holloway. Heās been a great fighter. He gave us great fights. He seems to be a good person. I respect him. But I donāt know, I feel like Iām way better than him everywhere. Itās going to be a complete masterpiece. You will see. I will knock him out in the first round. There is no doubts about that. Itās going to be much easier than with Volkanovski, because I considered Volkanovski is way more difficult matchup for me, and he beat that guy three times.ā
Just when I thought the bmf belt couldnāt possibly get any gayer
Topuria isnāt a bmf yet. I am beginning to like him less and less.
Iāve never seen someone so happy to drink their own koolaid, than Topuria. Guy probably starts his day flexing in the mirrorā¦
I dont like this Topuria chap. He is a great fighter and is handsome, beep, but he is an ass. I hope max punches his face 1000 times.
Whereās the Ps??
Hope max beats his ass.
What a fucking card that is.
I lean towards Max. Hes got a great chin, has the edge in boxing on a technical level (although obviously Ilia hits way harder) and he is built for wars of attrition. I think he wins a comfortable UD or maybe stops Ilia late.
Havenāt been this excited for a fight in the lower classes in a long while
Topuria knocked out the guy that dominated Max on the feet recently. I favor Toporia.
Despite his KO of Gaethje (where Gaetje dropped his hands and was off balance) max has never had one punch KO power and Topuria does. Heās also a good wrestler.
But styles make fights. Maybe tagging from a distance is how to beat Topuria.
I think whoever has the other guy going backwards wins the fight. Topuriaās highlights all come with the oppenent backed up against the cage.
If going back down to 145 doesnāt fuck him over, Holloway is riding A LOT of momentum into this one