Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Could Headline At UFC 308
Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway could headline at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on October 26.
The UFC Featherweight Champion Topuria recently hinted that his next fight was close. The Spaniard is coming off a second-round stoppage win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. Holloway became the BMF Champion after knocking out Justin Gaethje with a second left to go at UFC 300. After his win, Holloway wanted to fight Topuria.
The featherweight champion only wanted the fight if the BMF title was on the line. That did not sit well with Holloway, who felt that BMF champions should fight regardless of what is on the line. But following Islam Makhachev’s recent revelation that he may need hand surgery following his win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, Topuria vs. Holloway could headline.
Topuria Vs. Holloway
Topuria hinted that Holloway was avoiding the fight without naming him. That was dispelled by White, who made it clear that Holloway would fight anyone.
"I don’t think you ever have to force Max Holloway to fight," White
Volkanovski also backed up White’s comments.
"Let’s be real, you’re not forcing Max to fight. I think it’s common knowledge that Max wants to fight him (Topuria) 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," Volkanovski
White has had plenty to say about the state of the UFC event, as he ruled out giving extra bonuses following the UFC 304 event. The card was headlined by Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad, while Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes was in chief support. Belal would come out on top with a comprehensive, unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Aspinall stopped Blaydes in 60 seconds. The lack of competitive action in both fights made White change his stance on bonuses.
White On Bonuses
The rationale behind such bonuses was that fighters would dig deeper, knowing there was a monetary incentive. In the UFC 304 card, three fighters split the $100,000 performance bonuses, which White had increased at presser. That was a departure from the UFC’s stance on performance bonuses, which have stayed at $50,000 since 2013. Based on what he had seen, White was no longer interested in increasing bonuses at the pressers.
"I think that tonight showed that we should not. Upping them doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t make anybody fight any harder. It doesn’t change anything. I’m not doing this again ever. Today was the last day that I’m doing that. I’m not saying in the future the bonuses couldn’t get up. But I’m not going to be at a press conference and say, ‘$200, $300 (thousand).’ Never again. Never again. So you can thank everybody on this card for that. Nobody fought any harder. There was no sense of urgency," White said
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