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Max Holloway Promises Ilia Topuria Will "Bleed Red, Just Like Me'

BMF Champion Max Holloway can't wait to answer all the burning questions surrounding the undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.

Christopher De Santiago

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

One upset for the ages just isn't enough for Max Holloway, the former featherweight champion is looking to do it again at UFC 308.

Holloway was faced with an uphill battle at UFC 300 in April, where he met the feared BMF Champion Justin Gaethje in a weight class above. Despite the odds being against him, Holloway would shock the world in his return to lightweight, taking out the #2 contender in the world in the final seconds of what was already a dominant showing from the fighting Hawaiian.

(Exclusive) Max Holloway Talks Absent BMF Belt vs. Ilia Topuria

Holloway Rates Topuria's Game

The world his oyster, Holloway now enters a featherweight title fight with newly-crowned champion Ilia Topuria as a slight betting underdog.

That's likely due to Topuria's momentum, which is comparable to Holloway's as he was the first man ever to beat Alexander Volkanovski at 145lbs, knocking out the longtime champ at UFC 298 in February.

"He's good, man. I'll be lying to you if I told you he wasn't," Holloway told MMA Knockout in a recent interview. "He's great. He's a champion right now for a reason. Great boxing. Striking wise, I think he's just a great mixed martial artist. I think he has great wrestling, super explosive, great jiu-jitsu. Good to see. I can't wait to test all of those things. I can't wait."

Max Holloway Promises Ilia Topuria Will "Bleed Red, Just Like Me'
UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

While Topuria comes from a background in Greco-Roman wrestling, many pundits are quick to rate Topuria's hands as a boxer and compare his power and speed to Conor McGregor, the former featherweight champion who beat Holloway in his undefeated run to the title years ago.

Absorbing a UFC record amount of strikes (and dealing even more damage to his opponents himself), Holloway can still say he's never been knocked out in his career ahead of a fight with the very dangerous Topuria.

"The number one thing that keeps sticking out, everybody keep talking about his boxing, his power... We'll see what happens. To hurt someone, you gotta land power shots. So at the end of the day, I can't wait to go out there and mix it up with them."

Max Holloway Promises Ilia Topuria Will "Bleed Red, Just Like Me'
UFC's Max Holloway. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Holloway Unbothered By Topuria's Perfect Record: 'He'll Bleed Red Just Like Me'

The complex puzzle of Ilia Topuria has yet to be figured out, with 15 fighters trying and failing to get past "El Matador".

Though, Holloway has beaten the seemingly unbeatable before, becoming the first fighter to TKO the 14-0 Brian Ortega in 2018. "Blessed" will try his best to one-up the 15-0 Topuria this time around.

"Styles make fights. People make fights," Holloway said, when asked if being undefeated makes Topuria any different as a fighter. "Sometimes you show up, sometimes you don't in a fight. If you're undefeated, you're undefeated and you have all of the confidence in the world, which is respected."

Max Holloway Promises Ilia Topuria Will "Bleed Red, Just Like Me'
UFC's Max Holloway. / Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images

"At the end of the day, I took a bunch of people's 0's. This man is no different," Holloway said of Topuria. "[He'll] bleed red, just like me. So, I can't wait to go out there and do my thing."

Max Holloway has twice the experience as Ilia Topuria (who is five years younger) having fought wave after wave of featherweight contenders and a couple of former interim champs at lightweight in Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Holloway's seen it all, whereas Topuria is just getting settled into his first title reign.

Will Ilia Topuria's skills pay the bills, or will Max Holloway's chin and championship experience stand the test of time in the UFC's most important fight of the year?

Israel Adesanya Shares Prediction for Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

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Christopher De Santiago
CHRISTOPHER DE SANTIAGO

Christopher De Santiago is a 22 year-old journalist from Gainesville, Texas with years of experience covering MMA.

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