"He feels like he's going to whoop him" - Max Holloway's manager sheds light on 'Blessed's' strong interest in fighting Ilia Topuria

Max Holloway is set to make his return to the octagon this weekend when he challenges Justin Gaethje for the 'BMF' title on the main card of UFC 300. The bout has drawn some criticism as both fighters appeared to be closing in on a title opportunity in their division. Tim Simpson recently revealed that he remains interested in challenging Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, 'Blessed's' manager stated:

"He really wants to fight Topuria. He feels like he's going to whoop him. That's Max's words. I don't know if they're doing [Spain] this year, [but] he'd do it anywhere. He'd do it anywhere. He really wants to fight Topuria."

When asked how Holloway would feel if the UFC went to Spain after declining to go to Hawaii, Simpson responded:

"I don't think it would piss him off because it's not anyone's - it's Hawaii's government's fault, kind of, so who are you mad at? That's something that's out of his control and out of the UFC's control. If they could've taken to Hawaii, they probably would've done it five years ago, so who are you mad at?"

Check out Tim Simpson's comments on Max Holloway facing Ilia Topuria below:

Simpson noted that while a bout with Topuria interests Holloway, he is keeping his options open. He added that he is unsure if Alexander Volkanovski will choose to rematch the featherweight champion after losing his belt via second-round knockout at UFC 298.

The Chosen Advisory founder suggested that a victory over Gaethje could make 'Blessed' the top contender at both featherweight and lightweight while revealing he could also choose to defend the 'BMF' title.

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Max Holloway recently called out Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev was among the critics of this week's UFC 300 'BMF' title clash between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway. 'Blessed' called out the lightweight champion during a recent appearance on Demetrious Johnson's MIGHTYCast podcast, stating:

"I saw Islam talk about, 'oh, this fight makes no sense and blah, blah, blah'. I'm like brother, you should've fought Justin in February. Why did the guy you knocked out turn around so fast and fight in February? I mean, you were healthy. You should've turned around and came [back in] February. Everybody knows you can't fight in Ramadan and that's why they couldn't do the fight on 300 with Leon [Edwards] or he couldn't get another fight, but he's complaining like 'I can't get fights'."

Check out Max Holloway's comments on Islam Makhachev below:

Holloway claimed that Makhachev only fights when he wants to and isn't accepting fights when offered. The lightweight champion has suggested that he wants to return to the octagon in June, with Dustin Poirier as a potential opponent.