Holloway was prepared for all of Topuria’s attacks during a new ESPN interview leading into their Abu Dhabi featherweight title fight.
Ilia Topuria has been making a lot of claims about Max Holloway in the lead-up to their UFC 308 fight in Abu Dhabi. Those comments may have earned him headlines when made to the press, but they didn’t work so well when said directly to Holloway’s face.
Topuria and Holloway were recently featured on an ESPN ‘Face to Face’ where a bored Holloway reacted scathingly to “El Matador’s” greatest verbal hits.
“You were forced to fight me, you didn’t want to fight me,” Topuria claimed once again. “You asked to fight with Conor McChicken. You asked to fight with too many fighters because you were trying to avoid me.”
“Who told you this?” Holloway asked. “Exactly. Shut up, you’re lying! This guy’s a liar. I asked for you … You were the first guy I asked for. I want Ilia, I want the easiest fight. That’s Ilia Topuria. That’s what I said.”
“I already opened a home for old people,” Topuria said. “Volk already has his room. I have another one for you. So I’m gonna put you right there after October 26th. All for free, don’t worry. No expenses … Bring your pillow.”
“Oh my gosh,” Holloway replied. “Come up with something new. Say something new. You’ve been saying this the whole time you’ve been talking.”
In the end, none of this banter generates points on the judges’ scorecards. Ilia Topuria talked a big game leading into his fight with Alexander Volkanovski as well, with many wondering if he was going to look foolish after the bout. Instead he crushed Volk and took home the belt.
His trash talk looked pretty different after he walked the walk. Will things be similar after UFC 308 on October 26th?