Ilia Topuria says Max Holloway is afraid of risking his importance as BMF champion ahead of the UFC 308 showdown

Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway have very different impressions of how their UFC 308 main event came together. Holloway has repeatedly expressed interest in fighting Topuria, but Topuria maintains his opponent does not want to jeopardize his newfound reputation as the UFC’s BMF.

Holloway was an elite action fighter years before him Buzzer beater knockout by Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. Holloway received the ceremonial title of “Baddest Motherf—er” that night. “Blessed” doesn’t have a reputation for shying away from fights, but Topuria claims the UFC got Holloway to agree to their upcoming fight. Topuria argues that Holloway’s only significance today is the ceremonial silver title that hangs over his shoulder.

“If you’re at the point in your career where you’re BMF and you have that belt, why would you want to go down to fight for the featherweight title where your chances of winning are very slim?” Topuria said in an interview with CBS Sports. “The only thing that makes you relevant is the BMF belt.

“You will lose a lot of value if someone comes and beats you, even if you don’t put the BMF belt on the line. Imagine what will happen after October 26th if I knock him out. His belt will no longer have any value. You can call yourself BMF, but I’m not sure.

Holloway is a longtime fan favorite and former UFC featherweight champion. He has long been a reliable UFC headliner and still holds the record for most knockouts and finishes in featherweight title fights.

According to Topuria, Holloway wanted to continue his BMF appearance against Michael Chandler at lightweight. Chandler previously told the media that Holloway turned down a fight against him at UFC 306 in the Sphere.

“After he knocked out Justin Gaethje, I asked about Max Holloway,” Topuria said. “Before this fight I was thinking about leaving the rematch to Volkanovski or waiting for new competitors. Max didn’t deserve the chance.” [at that time]. He was beaten three times by Volk, so there was no point in facing him. After his fight with Gaethje, he got this very exciting knockout at the last second, so I wanted to fight him.

“I am the champion and I decide who I want to fight. UFC told me he wanted to stay in the 155-pound division and fight Chandler. They brought me many names. They basically had to force him to fight me.”

Watch the full interview with Ilia Topuria below.