UFC 308 is right around the corner, and the headliners [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] and [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] are itching to step into the cage to settle things for the featherweight title.
The undefeated champion Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is confident he will not only retain his gold, but also become the first to finish former champ Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) by knockout.
The fight goes down in the main event of UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. While there are still two weeks before they can get their hands on each other, that hasn’t stopped them from hurling verbal jabs at one another.
“You already know how it feels to bounce back,” Topuria said to Holloway in a pre-fight interview moderated by Brendan Fitzgerald. “You already have seven professional defeats. I have zero. So, you’re going to do it once again really well, I don’t have any doubts about that. You are a great example of that.”
The interview began with respectful yet sarcastic banter, but with each exchange, the sarcasm grew until full-on insults were spewed.
“I took a lot of people’s doughnuts, bro,” Holloway replied. “I hope you like churros because you’re about to get one come Oct. 26, buddy.”
Topuria dismissed Holloway, and claimed he will become the first person to knock out the former featherweight champion, whose only stoppage loss came by submission to Dustin Poirier at UFC 143 in 2012.
“The only thing I’m going to do is take your lights out and party with all my people, all my team. That’s what I’m going to do,” Topuria said. “And Still. This is what’s going to happen.
“… I don’t have any doubts that I will be the first one to knock you out. I don’t even want you to trust in that because if you’re starting to trust in what I’m saying, you’re not going to show up, and I need you to show up for the fight.”
Topuria explained his confidence comes from studying the division’s greats before him, including Alexander Volkanovski and Holloway. Topuria knocked out the former in his last fight at UFC 298, finishing the former champion in the second round.
Holloway enters this title opportunity coming off a Knockout of the Year contender at UFC 300, when he violently slept Justin Gaethje with one second left on the clock after pointing to the ground, inviting him to trade bombs until the final horn.
Topuria was not impressed with that fight, nor the finish. He even took it a step further, issuing a challenge to Holloway.
“Bro, I was so bored watching that fight,” Topuria said. “The only thing exciting about that fight was the last 10 seconds, to be honest. But I didn’t see any technique in that fight. I didn’t see any strategy. I didn’t see any f*cking thing. I just saw a bar fight, to be honest. It was very spectacular for the fans, but for me, as a professional, it was a – I don’t know. Not something very impressive.
“I challenge you to have that exchange in the first 10 seconds of the fight and you will see what’s going to happen. When you face a fighter like me inside the octagon, who brings that technique and that power, you can’t do that. I’m going to take your head off if you do that.”
Holloway laughed at the challenge and said Topuria wouldn’t do it because he gets tired quickly. The recurring response from “Blessed” was to express his excitement for fight night while repeating, “We’ll see,” and, “We’re going to find out,” in rebuttal to Topuria’s bold opinions.
Topuria claimed Holloway didn’t want to take the fight against him and would have rathered face Michael Chandler, which prompted a fiery reply.
“You were the first guy I asked for,” Holloway said. “I said I want Ilia Topuria. I want the easiest fight. I want Ilia Topuria. That’s what I said.”
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