Ilia Topuria put Georgia and Spain on the UFC map with his featherweight title triumph over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. With the victory, ‘El Matador’ opened doors for high-profile matchups against Conor McGregor, Islam Makhachev, and Max Holloway.
Holloway seems to be the most viable next opponent. After all, Holloway won the BMF title at UFC 300 and called out the featherweight champion. Ariel Helwani reported that Holloway and Topuria would headline UFC 307. However, Topuria recently revealed a hurdle to the fight.
Holloway Denies Topuria’s Claims About Fight Delay
Ilia Topuria recently spoke to Marca’s YouTube channel, revealing that not him but Max Holloway is the reason for the delay in the fight announcement. El Matador blamed ‘Blessed,’ citing the alleged troubles in the Hawaiian’s personal life and other reasons for the delay.
“They called me to say that Max Holloway was having family issues, that he was having trouble cutting weight, and that he wanted to fight at a higher weight class,” said Topuria in the interview, which seemed to have caught the BMF champion by surprise as he responded with a tweet.
“Guy is just making things up at this stage. I been ready,” tweeted Holloway, who posted the viral confused Nick Young meme GIF. The former featherweight champion is known for not rejecting fights. He even stepped in to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, though it didn’t materialize.
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Interestingly, after he won the title from Volkanovski, Topuria had rejected matchups against Holloway and other featherweight contenders. Instead, the Georgian angled for a lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev or a matchup against Conor McGregor at any weight.
Also Read: MMA Insider Teases Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Matchup for Upcoming UFC Event in Utah
