Ilia Topuria issues huge threat to Max Holloway ahead of future fight: 'I will be the first to put you to sleep'
04/19/2024 09:58 AM
Ilia Topuria has fired back at BMF champion Max Holloway following his comments that the featherweight champion is questionable.
At UFC 300 media day, Holloway was asked about his thoughts against Topuria and he criticized the featherweight champ.
"Questionable. That's it. Questionable. Everybody keeps asking me, what do I think of Topuria? He's questionable. I'll fight him. Go ask him that question. Ask him that question about me. At the end of the day, UFC, I always want to fight for the title, I always want to do this, a lot of contenders, they gave me a lot of up-and-coming contenders, and there's one that didn't come my way. You can ask UFC about that, you can ask him the question," Holloway said at UFC 300 media day.
Following Holloway’s stunning fifth-round knockout over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Ilia Topuria took to social media to clap back at the Hawaiian and threaten to give the next title shot to Brian Ortega.
"The only thing questionable about me is whether I finish you by ko or submission.I just beat the guy that beat you not once, not twice, but 3 times. You now have the one thing that keeps you relevant and that would grant you a money fight, the BMF belt. I no longer fight for money but for legacy. Winning that belt while holding my title will cement me as the first," Topuria wrote on X.
"The first to hold both belts. The first to knock out Volk and what most certainly will happen when we fight, the first one to put you to sleep. Something to calm you down is this: God doesn't shame anyone. You will have a worthy defeat against a champion who will be remembered for eternity. I decide who, when, and where. If you don't like the terms I'm sure Ortega will oblige," Ilia Topuria added
Ilia Topuria Eyes Return At The Sphere
With Ilia Topuria clapping back at Max Holloway, the hope for many fans is that the fight will happen next.
But, regardless of his next opponent, Topuria says he will likely be returning in September at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
“I think they want me to fight in The Sphere in September," Topuria said on The MMAHour. "So we'll see how they're going to figure out the things. At the same time, we want to go in Spain. We want to bring the UFC here in the first trimester of the next year. That's one of the reasons I want to fight in September [or] October, to be able to fight in the first trimester of the year."
Topuria became the featherweight champ with a KO win over Alexander Volkanovski back in February.
