UFC Rumors: Dana White Plans Ilia Topuria’s First Defense Against Max Holloway at Las Vegas Sphere at UFC 306

The world of mixed martial arts has been anticipating a fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway for quite some time now. With rumors and speculations about the fight flying here and there, Topuria has declared that he wants to fight as soon as possible, with his eyes on Spain for 2025.

The rumors began when Holloway impressed the entire globe with a phenomenal performance at UFC 300, wherein he snatched the BMF belt from Justin Gaethje via a KO, with only one second remaining in the clock to conclude the fight. But for Topuria to enter the Spanish arena next year, does Dana White need to make him fight Holloway at UFC 306, planned to be held at the Las Vegas Sphere?

Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway rumored for UFC 306

Recently, ‘El Matador’ was interviewed by SportskeedaMMA. Therein, the Georgian-Spanish mixed martial artist revealed that he wanted to return to the Octagon and defend his championship title for the first time in September. Without a doubt, he wanted to address the callout from Max Holloway.

Multiple MMA professionals and fans have speculated that Topuria’s next fight and title defense would be against Holloway. It was all just a matter of time. But with Holloway’s last callout after claiming the BMF belt, the world of mixed martial arts began believing that Dana White would make it happen. And now, the UFC featherweight champion has come up with a date.

Topuria said, “My target is to come back in September, so right now we are in the conversations, so we’ll see. If Max Holloway is able to fight in September, we have a fight. If not, I don’t know, maybe we fight at the end of the year or something like that. Because I want to fight as soon as possible because next year I want to fight in Spain, so I want to be ready for that date.”

If this fight comes to fruition, Topuria will have overtaken the likes of Conor McGregor, who has expressed his interest in headlining the maiden sports event at the Las Vegas Sphere. The Irishman recently reiterated his interest to clock in his second outing of the year at the $2.3 billion venue. But if Topuria is right, the luck of the Irish will not be in McGregor’s favor this September.

Whether the UFC CEO would ensure that the featherweight champ fights the BMF belt owner is something that only time can tell. But one thing is certain, the fight between the two has garnered a shipload of attention and sent waves of excitement throughout the MMA world.

Max Holloway’s newly minted BMF status surely sells this bout. But is there a beef big enough to sell this fight at the Las Vegas Sphere? Holloway has never really had any heat with Topuria and he has said so. Let’s get into it right away.

‘El Matador’ answers the callout from ‘Blessed’

After the mind-blowing events of UFC 300, every single fan and professional had two names in their mind, Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria. When Holloway called out the champ, Topuria had no choice but to respond. He took to X and declared that the only reason he was willing to fight ‘Blessed’ was the BMF title.

Topuria seemed confident in his words as he was sure he would finish Holloway if they fought. The only question was whether it would be a submission or a knockout. ‘El Matador’ further revealed that he had defeated the fighter who beat Holloway thrice. Although he claimed that the American mixed martial artist had become irrelevant, he wanted to fight him to become the first person to wear a championship title and the BMF belt. 

Topuria wrote, “You now have the one thing that keeps you relevant and that would grant you a money fight, the BMF belt. I no longer fight for money but for legacy. Winning that belt while holding my title will cement me as the first. The first to hold both belts. The first to knock out volk and what most certainly will happen when we fight, the first one to put you to sleep.”

Thereafter, the Georgian fighter laid down the conditions for the fight. He declared that he would be the one to decide “who, when and where.” In case Holloway didn’t agree to the terms, Topuria claimed that Brian Ortega would oblige to it. 

Do you think Topuria would fight Holloway at Las Vegas Sphere? Let us know in the comments down below.