Ilya Topria has revealed that there are one big condition before agreeing to defend her UFC featherweight title against Max Holloway.
Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will make his first title defense since taking the belt from Alexander Volkanovski in February against newly crowned BMF champion Holloway ( (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC). Last weekend, Justin Gaethje’s buzzer-beating knockout victory at UFC 300 made headlines in the sports world.
Holloway has made it clear he wants to fight Topuria in the aftermath of UFC 300, and “El Matador” shares similar sentiments. However, Topria refuses to be the only one to stake his belt. He demands that Holloway put the BMF belt on the line as well, but otherwise he’s not interested.
“Without the BMF belt, I don’t want him at all,” Topria said on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. “If not, I’m going to fight Volkanovski. Volkanovski deserves a rematch more than he does. He has that belt, so I’m really looking forward to it. That’s why I want him. He kept saying things like, “There are so many options now.” he has no choice.
“I’m the champion now. I choose the date. I choose the location. He just has to be ready. He has to wait for the call. I choose him. He has to be ready whenever he wants.”
Topuria, the only current UFC champion with an undefeated record, likes his chances against Hawaii. Holloway holds the record for most fights without a knockdown in the UFC, and has legendary durability and the confidence to survive some of the greatest moments of all time. However, Topria vows to put an end to all that.
“He can say whatever he wants,” Topria said. “Me running, him being a bull, everything. Come on, dude. Bring the same energy in the first 10 seconds that you had in the last 10 seconds (against Gaethje). Let’s see what happens. Let’s do it. And let’s see what happens. I know I’ll be the first to turn off his light.
“I know I’m much better than him in every way. With him, I can do anything I want. I can just ask him, ‘You want me to “How do you want me to end you?” Do you want me to knock you out? Do you want me to submit it? What do you want me to do? ‘”
Assuming Holloway and the UFC abide by the BMF title rules, Topuria said he expects to be ready to schedule a bout with Holloway at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September.
While Volkanovski deserves an immediate rematch, Topuria believes this is ultimately the right matchup, as he believes the former champion needs more time away from the fight following his disappointing loss at UFC 298.
“I think he needs more time to recover,” Topria said. “Even if we had a fight at the end of the year and I knocked him out, it would be like, ‘He didn’t have time to recover, he got knocked out three times in one year.'” I just want to do my best. I want the best version of Volkanovski. He needs more time. Once he has recovered and feels ready, he intends to resume. no problem. “
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