Ilia Topuria claims Max Holloway was avoiding him for lightweight opponent: "Trying really hard to avoid me"

Ilia Topuria has not competed since February when he defeated Alexander Volkanovski via second-round knockout to capture the featherweight title at UFC 298. That will change in just under two weeks as he looks to defend the belt for the first time when he faces Max Holloway at UFC 308. 'El Matador' recently accused his opponent of looking to avoid the bout to face a lightweight opponent.

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Topuria was asked if there were any truth to the claims. He responded by saying:

"Yeah, he was avoiding to fight me all the time. He said something like, 'no, I said to the UFC I want the easiest fight, I want to fight with Ilia Topuria'. That's a lie. A challenger never chooses his fights. Never. I'm the champion."

Topuria continued:

"I choose who I want to fight next and I said I want to fight Max Holloway. And they told me he's asking to stay in the 155 [pound] division to fight with Michael Chandler. I don't know. He asked about many, many guys and when they told him, 'no, Max, you have to fight with Ilia because he wants to fight you', so, finally, he had to accept it, but in the beginning, he was trying really hard to avoid me."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments on Max Holloway avoiding him below (39:00):

While Topuria is undefeated with 13 of his 15 victories coming via finish, it is difficult to envision any fighter turning down a title opportunity. That is especially true of Holloway, who captured the 'BMF' title with a stunning last-second knockout victory against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

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Ilia Topuria claims he would defeat Conor McGregor in his prime

Ilia Topuria has found himself engaged in a public back and forth with Conor McGregor. The featherweight champion recently claimed he would defeat 'The Notorious' in his prime. Championship Rounds shared 'El Matador's comments from a recent Instagram Live, tweeting:

"Ilia Topuria says he'd beat Conor McGregor in his prime: "MMA has evolved. He was really good in the stand-up, but on the ground he was always terrible. I'd beat him in his prime, at any time... wherever, whenever, it's not a competition. Let him keep drinking whiskey."

Check out the tweet from Championship Rounds below:

Topuria called out the former double champ after capturing the featherweight title at UFC 298. Despite the public war of words, a bout between the two is unlikely to come to fruition as they are at different points of their mixed martial arts careers.