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Max Holloway Calls Out Ilia Topuria's 'Forced To Fight' Claim Before UFC 308

The former UFC featherweight champion took a dig at Ilia Topuria ahead of their UFC 308 main event next Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Zain Bando

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Max Holloway celebrates after knocking out Justin Gaethje (not pictured) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Max Holloway celebrates after knocking out Justin Gaethje (not pictured) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Former featherweight and current 'BMF' champion Max Holloway is all business entering his UFC 308 main event with Ilia Topuria next Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Holloway has been with the UFC for over a decade and has fought some of the sport's best competition. These include names such as Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Dustin Poirier, and, most recently, Justin Gaethje.

In an interview with MMAFighting.com's Damon Martin posted Sunday, Holloway, who is making his second appearance of the year, called out Topuria for contradicting himself about the terms surrounding the fight and his decision to accept the fight.

"Last time I checked, the 'BMF' title is not on the line," Holloway said. "If anybody got forced to fight, it looks like him. You know, it came out of his own mouth. He said he's not gonna fight me unless the 'BMF' title was not on the line. It's not, buddy, so I guess he played himself on that one."

Regardless of what Topuria's ideal terms are, the fight is happening. At press time, Topuria is unbeaten and fresh off a KO/TKO win against Volkanovski in February to win the belt. Holloway has been itching to reclaim his featherweight title for nearly five years. Holloway is 0-3 against Volkanovski despite their second encounter being a heavily debated decision.

Holloway took the time to discuss his now-infamous "point down" motion, which is what he used to knock out Gaethje in the closing seconds of the fifth round. According to the Hawaiian native, there seems to be a misconception around its primary purpose.

"The point down [motion] is something that you do toward the ending of the fight," Holloway said. "If something's going good or the fight is entertaining, you give the other guy a shot. The moment is a moment for a reason, you know."

Topuria and Holloway is one of the last major UFC title fights of the year, with Topuria attempting to earn his first title defense.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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