Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway have very different impressions of how their UFC 308 main event came together. Holloway has repeatedly expressed interest in fighting Topuria, but Topuria claims his opponent didn't want to risk his newfound reputation as the UFC's BMF.
Holloway was an elite action fighter years before his buzzer-beater knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Holloway earned the ceremonial title of "Baddest Motherf---er" that night. "Blessed" doesn't have a reputation for shying from fights, but Topuria claims the UFC cornered Holloway into agreeing to their upcoming bout. Topuria argues that Holloway's only relevance today is the ceremonial silver title slung across his shoulder.
"If you are at the point in your career where you are the BMF and you have that belt, why do you want to go down to fight for the featherweight title where you have a very low possibility to win?" Topuria said while speaking to CBS Sports. "The only thing that makes you relevant is the BMF belt.
"You will lose a lot of value if someone comes and defeats you, even if you don't put the BMF belt at stake. Imagine what's going to happen after Oct. 26 when I knock him out. His belt won't have any value anymore. You can call yourself the BMF but I'm not sure."
Holloway is a longtime fan-favorite and former UFC featherweight champion. He's been a reliable UFC headliner for a long time and still holds the record for most knockouts and finishes in featherweight title fights.
According to Topuria, Holloway wanted to continue his BMF stint against Michael Chandler at lightweight. Chandler previously told the media that Holloway turned down a fight against him at UFC 306 in the Sphere.
"After he knocked out Justin Gaethje, I asked about Max Holloway," Topuria said. "Before that fight, I thought of giving the rematch to Volkanovski or waiting for new contenders. Max didn't deserve the shot [at that time]. He was beaten three times by Volk so it didn't make any sense to face him. After his fight with Gaethje, he got that very exciting knockout in the last second, so I wanted to fight him.
"I'm the champion and I choose who to fight. UFC told me he was asking to stay in the 155-pound division and fight Chandler. They brought me many names. They basically had to force him to fight me."
Check out the full interview with Ilia Topuria below.
