Topuria ironically answers Volkanovski: “This guy says you can beat me, Max”
The featherweight champion reacted to the Aussie saying that Holloway is the favorite in a potential fight. “He isn’t as good as he thinks”, ‘Volk’ said.
While Ilia Topuria’s next fight is still in the works, El Matador does not go unnoticed. The Spanish-Georgian remembered on Wednesday his victory against Alexander Volkanovski on Instagram. And he did it for a reason. With a picture of his impressive knockout, he sent an ironic response to the Australian, who had previously said Max Holloway would be the favorite in a possible fight against Topuria.
“I think Max wins that fight, yeah. Topuria is a very dangerous, great fighter... But I don’t think he is as good as he thinks he is. (Laughs) And of course, he caught me, right? So I can’t really say much. So I need to show everyone I know I can do it too,” Volkanovski said in the UFC 301 preview.
“This guy says you can beat me, Max,” Ilia replied on the aforementioned social network.
At the moment, there’s no certainty that Holloway will be Topuria’s next rival. The Hawaiian knocked out Justin Gaethje in the last second of the fifth round at UFC 300 to take the BMF title, the belt that defines the company’s ‘baddest’ fighter. After the clash, he challenged Topuria, who accepted to take on Blessed, but nothing has been finalized yet. Actually, the current featherweight monarch’s coaches said Brian Ortega could be his next opponent in an interview with AS.
Volkanovski: “Topuria is not going about things the right way”
Everything is now on standby, which Volkanovski also talked about. “Right now, he’s saying ‘no’ to everyone. That’s the problem. He’s saying no to Max Holloway, to Brian Ortega, to me, you name it. Not wanting to come to Australia, OK, but he’s saying ‘no’ to everyone. He’s saying ‘I don’t want to fight any of the contenders … I want to fight Conor McGregor’”, he said.
“When you hold the belt, there is a responsibility that comes with that. You can’t just be saying ‘nah, nah, nah’, that’s crazy, he’s not going about things the right way,” the Australian said about the champion. He added that Topuria “isn’t a bad kid,” but he stated he needs to accomplish more things in the octagon. “He has still got more to prove,” he concluded.
Topuria didn’t like Volkanovski’s words and replied to the Aussie with a message on X, challenging Holloway for the BMF title. “I never turned down the rematch with Alex as the UFC has never offered me this fight. As I’ve said many times before, I will be the first to knock out Holloway. Let’s keep this simple: Do you want to fight? If the answer is ‘yes’, there’s nothing more to discuss. Bring my belt and your pillow”.