Max Holloway promises Ilia Topuria ‘will bleed red just like me’

One upset for the ages just won’t be enough for Max Holloway, the former featherweight champion wants to do it again at UFC 308.

Holloway had a tough fight at April’s UFC 300, where he faced the fearsome BMF champion Justin Gaethje in a higher weight class. Despite the odds, Holloway shocked the world with his return to lightweight, defeating the No. 2 contender in the world in the final seconds of an already dominant performance by the fighting Hawaiian.

(Exclusive) Max Holloway talks in the absence of BMF Belt vs. Ilia Topuria

Holloway, his oyster’s world, now enters his featherweight title fight against newly crowned champion Ilia Topuria as a slight underdog in the betting.

This is likely due to Topuria’s dynamic, which is comparable to that of Holloway, who became the first fighter to defeat Alexander Volkanovski at 145 pounds when he knocked out the longtime champion at UFC 298 in February.

“He’s good, man. I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t,” Holloway said Knockout in MMA in a recent interview. “He’s great. There’s a reason he’s the champion now. Great boxing. In terms of striking, I think he’s just a great mixed martial arts fighter. I think he has great wrestling, is super explosive and has great jiu-jitsu. Nice to see that. I can’t wait to test it all out.

Although Topuria comes from a Greco-Roman wrestling background, many experts are quick to evaluate Topuria’s hands as a boxer and compare his strength and speed to Conor McGregor, the former featherweight champion who defeated Holloway years ago on his undefeated path to the title.

Taking a record number of UFC punches (and inflicting even more damage on his opponents himself), Holloway can still say that he has never been knocked out in his career before fighting the very dangerous Topuria.

“The most striking thing is that everyone is talking about his boxing, his strength… We will see what happens. To hurt someone, you have to fire hard shots. Ultimately I can’ I can’t wait to get out there and mix it up with them.’

The complex mystery of Ilia Topuria has yet to be solved, as 15 warriors tried to break through “El Matador”, but to no avail.

Although Holloway has beaten the seemingly undefeated before, becoming the first fighter to TKO Brian Ortega 14-0 in 2018. “Blessed” will do everything in its power to beat Topuria 15-0 this time.

“Style creates fights. People make fights,” Holloway said when asked if being undefeated makes Topuria different as a fighter. “Sometimes you show up for a fight, sometimes you don’t. If you’re undefeated, you’re undefeated and you have all the confidence in the world, which is respected.”

“I ended up hiring a few people for nothing. This man is no different,” Holloway said of Topuria. “(He) will bleed red, just like me. So I can’t wait to go out there and do my thing.”

Max Holloway has twice as much experience as Ilia Topuria (who is five years younger), having fought wave after wave of featherweights and several former interim lightweight champions in Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Holloway has seen it all, while Topuria is just beginning his first title reign.

Will Ilia Topuria’s skills pay the bills, or will Max Holloway’s beard and championship experience stand the test of time in the UFC’s biggest fight of the year?

Israel Adesanya shares Ilia Topuria vs. prediction Max Holloway