ABU DHABI – Max Holloway ripped UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria for trying to impersonate Conor McGregor.
Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) challenges Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) for the title in Saturday’s UFC 308 headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (pay-per-view, ESPN+).
Topuria has made some bold statements and not minced words when it comes to Holloway. However, “Blessed” is unfazed by the trash talk.
“I’m more confused about everything he’s saying,” Holloway told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 308 media day. “He’s talking about me not wanting to fight, me being forced to fight. He got me out here feeling like how he looked after my Gaethje fight, so it’s crazy.
“His mind is very interesting. But if that’s what it takes to be the best version of himself come Saturday night then so be it. He can talk all that talk he wants because at the end of the day, he still has to see me in three days.”
Topuria said he’ll challenge Holloway to his own game by pointing to the middle of the octagon for a throwdown in the first 10 seconds of the fight. Holloway isn’t buying Topuria’s claim and accuses “El Matador” of copying Conor McGregor’s persona.
“It just makes no sense,” Holloway said. “To me, I don’t think he deserves – you’ve got to earn that right. I don’t think he deserves that right. I mean, you guys know the guy he’s copycatting. This guy is a copycat down to his tattoos, to his aura, to the way he’s approaching fights. The guy is a copycat. At the end of the day, I think you’ve got to earn that moment, and I believe he could have earned it with Josh Emmett.
“In their five-round war, Josh Emmett was trying to swing. If you guys go back to that fight and watch what happened, when Josh Emmett tried to swing, someone shot, and someone held someone down for the rest of the fight. So, I think the moment needs to be earned, and he’s just trying to steal stuff. He’s already trying to steal one person’s aura, and now he’s trying to steal somebody else’s thing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
