Max Holloway sent a massive shockwave through the fighting community with a last-second knockout victory over Justin Gaethje. However, the wave didn’t quite hit Ilia Topuria like it touched the rest of the world, leaving him untouched by its chaotic force. After all, the featherweight champion seemed to believe that the BMF championship fight was nothing but boring. 

In an interview with ESPN MMA, Topuria and Holloway hurled some warning shots at each other just about 2 weeks before the fated matchup. It all began when the host of the show asked the Georgian-Spanish mixed martial artist about his thoughts on Holloway’s fight at UFC 300. Needless to say, it was one of the bouts that helped Holloway garner $600K from the MMA promotion. And that does not include the PPV cut. As soon as the question was shot forward, ‘Blessed’ claimed that Topuria didn’t really have to answer that. 

But the featherweight king was of a different mind. Topuria said, “Bro, I was so bored watching that fight. The only thing that was exciting about the fight was the last 10 seconds, to be honest. I didn’t see any technique in that, that fight. I didn’t see any strategy.” He continued,  “I didn’t see any f—ing thing. I just saw a bar fight. It was very spectacular for the fans. For me as a professional, it was a, I don’t know, not something very impressive.” 

No wonder Max Holloway was taken aback. He pointed out that Ilia Topuria said otherwise. But instead of admitting it all, Topuria warned the BMF champion ahead of their fight. He voiced, “I challenge you to have that exchange, but in the first 10 seconds of that fight. And you will see what’s going to happen. When you face a fighter like me inside the Octagon, who brings that technique and that power, you can’t do that. I’m gonna take your head off.” 

With the challenge in place, Holloway had nothing to say, except “We’ll find out.” Topuria wasn’t quick to let it go and he kept urging on to finish the fight in the first 10 seconds. And ‘Blessed’ had no choice but to agree to the terms. 

The 27-year-old featherweight fighter has always shown extreme confidence regarding his fight against the BMF champion. And that’s what leaked out when he took to social media and sent a challenge to the fighting world. 

Ilia Topuria issues a challenge for Max Holloway before their fight at UFC 308

Topuria is currently on an undefeated run, with 15 wins and no defeats in his record. And as the talks of the MMA town shifted towards UFC 308, the featherweight champion had to send out a message for his opponent. Taking to Instagram, Topuria shared the poster of UFC 308, and wrote, “The first to knock him out. It will be absolute domination. This goes out to all those boys and girls who follow me, so that they know that everything is possible if they have faith and strive for it. Don’t forget that it doesn’t matter where you come from, if you know where you’re going. Thank you, Spain and Georgia, for everything you have given me and continue to give me.”

The featherweight champ’s confidence exuded in the next lines, as he added one more victory to his MMA record, long before his fight with ‘Blessed’ materialized. He wrote, “This goes for all of you. 16-0 And still undefeated. Undefeated mentality is the one possessed by those who have the faith to turn their dreams into reality. If you are undefeated comment.”

Needless to say, ‘El Matador’ seemed pretty confident in his ability and strength to have sent forth such a fearsome challenge. But undermining Holloway’s skills might simply put Topuria in harm’s way. After all, one lucky strike to the chin can decide the fate of the bout in just a couple of seconds. And lady luck has already favored Holloway in his fight against Gaethje.

Do you think the warnings issued by Topuria had an intimidating effect on Holloway? Would the main event at UFC 308 end in 10 seconds? Let us know what you think of Holloway’s KO win over Gaethje in the comments down below.