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Ilia Topuria Sends Chilling Warning to Max Holloway Ahead of Title Fight: ‘Nobody Can Exchange Blows With Me’
Ilia Topuria confidently warns Max Holloway ahead of their anticipated title fight, setting the stage for an intense showdown between two top featherweight contenders.
Ilia Topuria has warned Max Holloway sternly leading up to their much-anticipated fight. After upsetting the UFC world at UFC 298, Topuria has been quite proud of his punching power. However, stylistically, both Holloway and Topuria are somewhat similar. Both fighters rely heavily on their striking, which has led to fans speculating about a possible dogfight between the duo. But as the featherweight champion says, this is exactly what will give him the edge against Holloway.
Appearing in an exclusive interview with Marca recently, Topuria warned ‘Blessed’ not to come too close to him. He said, “As soon as [Max] starts to fight me and exchange blows, that's the end of the fight. Nobody can exchange blows with me because of my power and the technique I apply to each movement.”
Topuria further teased that if Holloway does his iconic, ‘pointing to the middle’ gesture, then the match was done. He said, “So as soon as [Max] starts to fight, as soon as he points his finger down, if he does it from the beginning... that's it.”
For the uninitiated, what ‘El Matador’ referred to was Holloway’s gesture from UFC 300. Facing off against Justin Gaethje, Holloway dominated the entire 5 rounds. However, towards the business end of the match, Holloway suddenly pointed towards the middle of the ring and asked Gaethje to box. Considering the fact that Gaethje is a phenomenal boxer, such an invitation could have been suicidal for ‘Blessed’.
But what followed next sent chills down the spines of the crowd. The duo engaged in a dogfight, trading blows wildly at each other. Ultimately, one of Holloway’s punches connected on Gaethje’s chin, and he thudded onto the ground, taking a brutal KO. Since then, the punching prowess of Holloway has become a hot topic in the MMA realm.
However, Topuria’s trash-talking skills became dominant from the moment a matchup between the duo was teased. Initially, both fighters accused each other of trying to avoid the matchup. But once the bout was confirmed by the UFC, Topuria went ahead and said that it was the UFC who pressured Holloway to agree to the fight.
However, disagreeing with the narrative, Dana White stated that a fighter of Max Holloway’s caliber does not have to be forced to accept a fight. Thus, with things getting heated up, it remains to be seen how the fight shapes up.
ALSO READ: Ilia Topuria Dismisses Fight With Sean O’Malley Following UFC 306 Defeat: ‘I’m Better Than You’
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