Max Holloway faces rare fan backlash for dismissing Ilia Topuria's punching power - "Your pride is getting in the way," "CTE is hard"

Former UFC champion Max Holloway's recent comments did not go down well with some MMA fans. In a video uploaded to his YouTube account, 'Blessed' announced that he was done competing at 145 pounds and would now be moving up to lightweight.

But one thing that caught people's attention in the video was when Holloway spoke about Ilia Topuria's striking power. Holloway shared that 'El Matador's' punches did not feel any different from the strikes he had absorbed from his past opponents.

"Everybody talking about how hard of a puncher [Topuria] is, his punches didn't feel any different from anybody else I ever fought. Like, it was no big difference... He just landed something that landed. Even the one that landed didn't feel too crazy."

Check out Max Holloway's comments below (2:50):

MMA account @ChampRDS uploaded a snippet of the video on X, which drew reactions from various MMA enthusiasts.

One individual accused Holloway of being too prideful and asked him to give Topuria his due credit.

"Max, your pride is getting in the way, give the man his flowers."

Another person claimed that the former UFC champion's comments were the result of him suffering from CTE.

"CTE is hard."

One user declared themselves a fan of Holloway but jokingly criticized him for his words.

"Big fan of Max but he definitely forgot the last 30 seconds of that fight."

Check out a compilation of some of the reactions below:

MMA fans react to Max Holloway's comments

Topuria and Holloway headlined UFC 308 for the featherweight throne on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The fight was an exciting affair that ended with Topuria scoring a knockout in the third round. With the victory, 'El Matador' became the first fighter to KO 'Blessed' in a professional MMA fight.