UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has given Max Holloway a stern warning ahead of their highly anticipated clash. After stunning everyone with his knockout at UFC 298, the Georgian fighter has taken great pride in his punching power. However, stylistically, both Topuria and Holloway are somewhat similar. Both fighters rely on their striking the most, which has led fans to speculate about a potential dogfight between the two. But “El Matador” has claimed that this will give him an edge against Holloway in the upcoming matchup.
Topuria’s warning to Holloway
Recently, in an interview with Marca, Topuria warned Holloway not to get too close to him. “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,” said Topuria. He further stated that if “Blessed” makes his iconic ‘pointing to the middle’ gesture, the match is over.
For those who don’t know, Topuria was referring to Holloway’s gesture at UFC 300. When Holloway faced Justin Gaethje, he dominated the entire five rounds of the fight. However, in the final moments of the match, Holloway suddenly pointed to the middle of the ring and asked “The Highlight” to box. Considering the fact that Gaethje is a great boxer, such an invitation could have been suicidal for Holloway. But what followed left the audience stunned. The two exchanged wild punches. Eventually, one of Holloway’s punches hit Gaethje’s chin and he fell to the ground, giving him a brutal knockout. Since then, Holloway’s boxing ability has become a hot topic in the MMA community.
The matchup will be exciting
However, Topuria’s art of trash talking took over from the moment the fight between the two came to light. Initially, both fighters accused each other of trying to avoid the matchup. But when the UFC made the fight official, “El Matador” went ahead and said that it was the UFC that had pressured Holloway to agree to the fight. However, disagreeing with this narrative, Dana White said that a fighter of Max Holloway’s caliber doesn’t need to be forced to accept a matchup. Thus, while things are heating up, it remains to be seen how the fight will go on.
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