Ilya Topria wants Max Holloway to compete in The Sphere, and both men's belts are on the line.
Last Saturday, Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje with two seconds left at UFC 300 to win the “BMF” title. Holloway then called for a shot at the newly minted featherweight champion, saying Topuria had cheated on him en route to the title. Topuria is happy to oblige.
“The UFC actually saved him for this moment,” Topria said Monday. MMA hour. “I asked for Max before the Volkanovski fight. I always asked for him. 'I want to fight him, I want to fight him.' In the end, they gave me Volkanovski. Because they were hiding him for this moment.
“Max Holloway, he's next. He can say whatever he wants – I'm running, he's the bull, this and that. Come on, dude. Hold it in the last 10 seconds. Let's just bring in the same energy that we had in the first 10 seconds and see what happens. Let's do it and see what happens. I know I'll be the first. I know I'm much better than him everywhere. I can do anything I want with him. I told him, 'How do I finish? “Do you want to do that?” you can ask. Do you want me to knock you out? Do you want me to submit it? what do you want me to do? '”
Topria won the featherweight title in February with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. Holloway has a history with Volkanovski and is 0-3 in title fights, so Topuria made it clear he was the only one he was interested in. “Blessed” has the BMF belt, so against Holloway. If that's not possible, Topria isn't doing it.
“There's a lot involved in this fight,” Topria said. “He has that belt, Bad Motherf*****’s belt, so he’s looking forward to adding that to his legacy as well. UFC Champion Badest Motherf*****, et al. What's there? And we'll probably go to the second class.
“Without the BMF belt, I don't want him at all,” Topria continued. “If not, I'm going to have a rematch with Volk. But he has that belt, so I'm really looking forward to it. That's why I want him. He said, 'Right now, I have a lot. There are many options.'' he has no choice. I'm the champion for now. I choose the date and location. He just needs to be ready and wait for the call. He must be ready whenever I want him. ”
Topria added that he is still open to fighting Volkanovski after defeating Holloway, saying the former champion deserves a rematch but wants him to be fully healthy for that. Meanwhile, Topuria believes UFC 306 will be his own return fight, making his long-awaited promotional debut at The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 14th, but this does not fit well with his bigger plans. Match.
“I think they want me to fight at The Sphere in September,” Topria said. “So let's see how they figure things out. At the same time, we also want to go to Spain. We want to bring the UFC here in the first semester of next year That's one of the reasons I want to fight in September. [or] October, to be able to compete in the first semester of the year. ”
Holloway has announced that Topuria's first title defense will be tough despite McGregor recently hinting that a rematch with Conor McGregor could be next after McGregor returned to action against Michael Chandler at UFC 303. Holloway seems to be the most likely opponent at the moment. When that ultimately happens, Topuria has a simple message for Holloway:
“The message is clear: just be prepared and wait to hear from us,” Topria said. “We'll be thinking about dates and locations, so get ready. And bring the energy you got in the last 10 seconds into the first 10 seconds. Do what you did with me. Try it and trust me, I'll turn off your lights. I'll be the first.
“He actually knows that, that's why he started calling out different fighters. He started calling out Conor McGregor, and I don't know, he started calling out after the fight. I heard so many names. I don't know why he lost interest in fighting me. Before he said, “I want to fight him, he's running away from the bull.” I will never run away from you. Your name has never been on my contract. But now I'm going to ask you, and believe me, it's going to be a tough night for you. ”
