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Max Holloway recently talked about Ilia Topuria potentially attempting to bait him into a mistake in their upcoming fight.
On April 13, Holloway produced one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history against Justin Gaethje. Since then, the former UFC featherweight champion's signature point-down maneuver has become a part of MMA culture.
Next Saturday, Holloway looks to regain UFC gold when he challenges featherweight king Topuria in the UFC 308 main event. Topuria has used Holloway's legendary sequence against Gaethje as trash-talking fuel, claiming he will do the point-down technique at the beginning of their fight.
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During an interview with MMA Fighting, Holloway reacted to Topuria's claim by revealing he doesn't plan on fighting recklessly. 'Blessed' had this to say about his upcoming opponent's threats that could potentially be bait:
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"I don't think he gets the gist of it, you know. At the end of the day, the point down is something that you do towards the ending of the fight. If something is going good, if the fight is entertaining or you're winning, you give the other guy a shot. The moment is a moment for a reason."
Holloway continued:
"The belt is called the Blessed Man Forever, or what you guys want to call the Baddest Mother Fer. If the belt was the DMF, the Dumbest Mother Fer than maybe I would get sucked into [Topuria's mind games]. It's far from that, man. He talks about being a boxer, that's not much boxer IQ of him, but we will see what happens."
Watch Max Holloway discuss Ilia Topuria's alleged bait below:
Ilia Topuria looks to solidify legacy with knockout against Max Holloway
Ilia Topuria made massive promises before fighting Alexander Volkanovski and delivered a second-round knockout. At UFC 308, Topuria faces similar expectations after claiming he will knock out Max Holloway, who is known for being one of the most durable fighters of all time.
Topuria has an opportunity to once again change the narrative about him amongst the MMA community. With a knockout against Holloway, the 27-year-old would prove he's more than an overly confident UFC champion, as he'd solidify himself as a finishing threat to anyone at 145 pounds.
