Alexander Volkanovski dismisses Ilia Topuria’s suggestion that UFC ‘forced’ Max Holloway into upcoming fight
Alexander Volkanovski | Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Alexander Volkanovski doubts Ilia Topuria has as much pull as he claims to have.
The reigning featherweight champion recently tweeted that his first title defense is booked, suggesting that the UFC matchmakers “forced” Max Holloway to accept a fight date.
It seems that the UFC has forced him to say yes. El Matador is back. Congratulations to all @ufc fans.
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) July 24, 2024
The comment is a continuation of a recent war of words between Topuria and Holloway, in which Topuria claimed that his fight with Holloway had been delayed due to issues on the challenger’s side. Holloway responded, saying that he’s open to fight Topuria at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 14.
Volkanovski weighed in on the drama in an interview with MMA Fighting’s José Youngs.
“Let’s be real, you’re not forcing Max to fight,” Volkanovski said. “I think it’s common knowledge that Max wants to fight him and I think he wanted to fight him sooner rather than later. There’s holdups. I’m pretty sure there’s holdups, and I don’t think it’s on Max-I’m not trying to pick sides, I’m just stating facts. I’ve got nothing against Ilia, but you’re not forcing Max in this one. Let’s be real.”
Topuria’s next fight, whether its against Holloway or someone else, is still to be officially announced.
Volkanovski dropped his featherweight title to Topuria after being knocked out in the second round of their UFC 298 main event contest. It was the first loss ever for Volkanovski competing at 145 pounds, and the win elevated Topuria to another level of stardom. However, he has yet to compete since the February contest, and Volkanovski wonders if his behavior in interviews and on social media is having a negative effect on his image.
“The way [Topuria] approaches some things, I find it quite funny,” Volkanovski said. “Not funny, like, ‘I’m going to play the bad guy’ and do that and play the game. With luck, playing that, and then you end up getting a knockout of me, it worked out perfect for him, that was great. I feel like he got everyone on board, now you just play your cards right.
“I just don’t feel like he’s playing his cards right right now. He’s starting to lose a bit of the fans that might have jumped on. Or maybe this is a big master plan of his to stir it up even more, maybe try to get in Max’s head, I don’t know what it is. But you didn’t force Max, we sort of know this.”
Volkanovski is also yet to fight since losing to Topuria. He has previously said that his plan is to wait for a chance to regain the featherweight belt, which he successfully defended five consecutive times. He also holds a perfect 3-0 record in championship fights against Holloway.
Should Topuria vs. Holloway be officially booked, it sounds like Volkanovski still plans to wait for his turn.
“I wanted them to fight earlier so I can fight sooner,” Volkanovski said.
