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

A surprise for the ages just isn’t enough for Max Holloway, the former featherweight world champion wants to do it again at UFC 308.

Holloway faced a tough fight at UFC 300 in April, where he faced feared BMF champion Justin Gaethje in a higher weight class. Despite the odds being against him, Holloway would shock the world with his return to lightweight, knocking out the world’s second-best contender in the final seconds of the struggling Hawaiian’s already dominant performance.

(Exclusive) Max Holloway talks about missing the BMF belt against Ilia Topuria

With the world at his feet, Holloway enters a featherweight title fight with newly crowned champion Ilia Topuria as a slight underdog.

That’s likely due to Topuria’s swing, which is comparable to Holloway’s, as he was the first man ever to defeat Alexander Volkanovski at 145 pounds, knocking out the longtime champion at UFC 298 in February.

“He’s good, man. I’d be lying to you if I told you he wasn’t,” Holloway said MMA knockout in a recent interview. “He’s great. He’s a champion right now for a reason. Great boxing. As far as punches go, I think he’s just a great mixed martial artist. I think he has great wrestling, super explosive, great jiu-jitsu. Good to see. I can do that.” I can’t wait to test all of these things.

While Topuria comes from Greco-Roman wrestling, many experts are quick to rate Topuria’s skills as a boxer, comparing his power and speed to Conor McGregor, the former featherweight world champion who defeated Holloway years ago in their undefeated fight for the title.

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

“The main thing that always stands out is that everyone keeps talking about his boxing, his strength… We’ll see what happens. To hurt someone, you have to land power shots. So at the end of the day 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. 15 fighters try to get past “El Matador” but fail.

However, Holloway has beaten the seemingly unbeatable before, becoming the first fighter to defeat Brian Ortega’s 14-0 record in 2018. “Blessed” will try his best to defeat 15-0 Topuria this time.

“Styles make fights. People make fights,” Holloway said when asked if Topuria is different as a fighter because she is undefeated. “Sometimes you show up in a fight, sometimes you don’t. When you’re undefeated, you’re undefeated and you have all the confidence in the world and it’s respected.”

“I ended up taking a few people’s zeros. This man is no different,” Holloway said of Topuria. “[He’ll] Bleed red, just like me. I can’t wait to get out there and do my thing.

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

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

Will Ilia Topuria’s skills pay the bills, or will Max Holloway’s chin and championship experience prove themselves in the UFC’s biggest fight of the year?

Israel Adesanya shares Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway prediction