Ilia Topuria Changes Tune on Dana White’s Decision on No BMF Title for UFC 308 Max Holloway Fight

UFC featherweight king Ilia Topuria has recently been the target of ridicule for multiple reasons—be it his heated verbal exchanges with ‘Team Khabib,’ which intensified into a war of words with Belal Muhammad, who dubbed ‘El Matador’ the “Georgian Colby Covington,” or his spat with UFC superstar Conor McGregor over the real “Spanish” debate. Despite having the most crucial fight of his career fast approaching against BMF titleholder Max Holloway at UFC 308, Topuria appears more focused on trading blows online than concentrating on the octagon.

Remaining optimistic, the Georgian-Spanish native has been spotted carrying a “fake” BMF belt, leading to speculation and confusion among fans about whether the BMF title would also be on the line. However, during the recent conclusion of DWCS, Dana White dispelled the rumors, clarifying that only Topuria’s title would be at stake, and the BMF belt would not be up for grabs at UFC 308.

When asked for his reaction to Dana White‘s statement during Kevin Iole’s YouTube podcast, Iole pressed Ilia Topuria with the question, “No BMF belt at stake in this fight. Is that disappointing? I mean, Max won the championship. He is the BMF champion. You’re like, why not have both belts? Is it disappointing to you that it’s not at stake?”

Topuria dismissed any disappointment, stating, “Not at all, not at all. Everyone is doing their job. If the UFC didn’t want to put that belt or Max didn’t want to put that belt in the middle, I don’t care.” Shifting attention to his preparation for the upcoming Abu Dhabi event, he added, “So, if the UFC didn’t decide to put that belt in the middle, what can I do? It is what it is.”

While ‘El Matador’ doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will toward Dana White and the UFC for not putting the BMF title on the line at UFC 308, he’s still frustrated with ‘Blessed’, recently sharing his thoughts on why Holloway didn’t agree to put his belt up for grabs in their upcoming bout.

Ilia Topuria calls out Max Holloway’s insecurity over his BMF belt

Before the official announcement of the Max Holloway vs. Ilia Topuria fight, they engaged in a back-and-forth on social media, each blaming the other for delaying the matchup. ‘Blessed’ repeatedly dismissed these claims. However, yesterday, the Georgian sensation revealed more details, suggesting that Holloway had considered a short stint in the lightweight division to face Justin Gaethje at the historic UFC 300.

Following that, Holloway seemed to want to avoid a fight against Ilia Topuria by moving to lightweight, but disagreements between matchmakers and UFC executives led him back to the featherweight division. In a recent interview with CBS Sports, ‘El Matador’ further called out Holloway regarding the status of the BMF belt.

“If you are at the point in your career where you are the BMF and you have that belt,” Topuria added,” why do you want to go down to fight for the featherweight title where you have a very low possibility of winning? The only thing that makes you relevant is the BMF belt. You will lose a lot of value if someone comes and defeats you, even if you don’t put the BMF belt at stake.”

As we are now just a week away from UFC 308, could the UFC and Dana White’s decision have impacted Ilia Topuria’s ambitions? What motivates someone to carry a replica belt if they don’t genuinely desire it? What’s your take on this? Drop your opinion below.