Ilia Topuria won the featherweight title at UFC 298 in February. In the aftermath, ‘El Matador’ stated having every intention of a 145-pound maiden defense on home turf. The 27-year-old admitted his dream is to headline an event at the Santiago Bernabéu. Moreover, he wanted to defend his belt against Max Holloway. Recent developments show he might get what he wanted.
Max Holloway previously challenged the current 145-pound guard after his last-second BMF knockout. Topuria initially stipulated putting his newly won strap on the line only if the Hawaiian did the same for the BMF belt. Since then, Topuria appears to have settled on a title defense without the BMF title on the line. Moreover, he is also interested in a Conor McGregor money fight.
I hope to defend the belt with Max Holloway, and then I wanna fight with Conor McGregor, hopefully, If [McGregor] wins his upcoming fight…that’s the fight I’m looking for… [But] My target is to come back in September. Right now, we are in the conversations so we’ll see. If Max Holloway is able to fight in September, we have a fight. If not, maybe to the end of year…
Ilia Topuria to Andrew Whitelaw (@whitelawsport) for a Sportskeeda MMA Originals Exclusive interview
The Alicante-Georgian native prompted a September mark for the Topuria vs. Holloway target date. He’s also willing to push it to the year’s end if Max Holloway is unavailable. UFC’s debut in Spain can happen sometime this year. He wants to rebound well and headline that event.
Consequently, Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) took the honorary kick-off at Real Madrid FC’s game against Sevilla after his title win. Longtime coach Jorge Climent already says Topuria can sell out a PPV event in their home stadium of Santiago Bernabéu. Topuria lived up to his prenomination of going 15-0. Now, he has the daunting task of dealing with the BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
UFC legend stands by Ilia Topuria’s choice to shoot for the BMF
Spaniard Ilia Topuria had preemptively snubbed the likes of Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway from contending for his title if he ever won. Hence, when Holloway won his silver strap, Topuria went into overdrive, feeling like there was unfinished business. He called out Topuria; while negligent at first, Topuria has become deeply invested in the BMF title strap.
Max Holloway and champion Ilia Topuria (Source: Instagram)Instead of accepting the fight outright, Ilia Topuria wants Holloway’s newly acquired title to be on the line. This has drawn considerable criticism from some fans and pundits. Analysts like Daniel Cormier say that as a newly minted titleholder, he is overestimating his leverage if he snubs Holloway. Chael Sonnen, on the other hand, sees value in it.
Ilia Topuria is 100 percent right! He’s right! Topuria is telling Holloway, ‘First off, you don’t get credit at ’45 for something you did at ’55.’ He’s right. Topuria’s saying, ‘However, absent of you even going to ’55 and having that level of success, I do acknowledge that you were the guy down here at ’45… But it’s the 145-pound division. If you come down, I’ll put the belt up, but I’ve got a little more interest in the guy that won an equally as large of a fight…
Chael Sonnen via his Official YouTube Channel (@ChaelSonnenOfficial)
After top brass announced their September return to Paris, Ilia Topuria took to X, stating that UFC Spain has a date. UFC Fight Night, Live From Accor Arena, Paris, happens on September 28, as recently announced. But there’s no official date for Spain.
Many are calling his bluff; Sonnen wholeheartedly supports the driving effort. In a later video, ‘The American Gangster’ stated that he has a date (real or not), and Topuria is influencing everyone’s hands to include him in all equations. This is quite a strategy so far. As such, Sonnen completely stands with Topuria for making an effort and taking risks.
