The list of potential challengers for Ilia Topuria grew thanks to Max Holloway’s efforts at UFC 318.
Holloway simultaneously kept a title in his possession and boosted his hopes of winning another with his performance in Saturday’s pay-per-view main event at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center.
The BMF champion had the rare role of villain in Louisiana, as he served as the opponent for Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight at UFC 318. And the Hawaiian played spoiler by getting his revenge on ‘The Diamond’ for his previous two losses against him.
In the aftermath of his decision victory on July 19, Holloway has made it clear that he wants a second chance at taking lightweight king Ilia Topuria’s ‘0’.
- READ MORE: Dana White has disagreed with two UFC retirements but Dustin Poirier’s at UFC 318 is not one of them
Alexander Volkanovski sent Ilia Topuria a warning while predicting Max Holloway’s stellar UFC 318 win
While appearing on Fox Sports’ Main Event show during UFC 318 fight week, Alexander Volkanovski confidently predicted that his former three-time opponent would return to winning ways in style on fight night.
“There’s very few that can bounce back (from a KO) in a positive way,” Volkanovski said. “(Holloway) is the type of guy that will make the right adjustments and come back, not only the same guy he was, maybe even better.”
And that has now made his subsequent remarks relevant, as the Australian suggested that if Holloway could prove his improvements and bounce-back ability at UFC 318, Topuria could be in line for a rematch that would be far from plain sailing.
“Ilia’s always going to be a hard matchup for anybody. He is always gonna have that chance to knock him out,” Volkanovski acknowledged.
“But what would have Max learned from that? We will see. … If Max comes out and improves himself, that’s probably gonna be an even tougher fight for Ilia next time they face.
“You know now Max is probably gonna find a safer approach because he is still really good with his movement,” Volkanovski continued. “He probably was backing his chin, taking more risks. Maybe he won’t take as many risks.”
Dana White had good news for Ilia Topuria regarding a Max Holloway rematch
When it comes to selecting an opponent for his title defense, Topuria recently got some added incentive to push for a second showdown with Holloway.
In the meeting that saw Topuria knock out Holloway in 2024, only the Spaniard’s featherweight belt was on the line. But that has not stopped ‘El Matador’ from self-professing himself as the true BMF champion.
In a rematch, however, Topuria may have the chance to claim the actual BMF belt.
That’s after UFC CEO Dana White affirmed during his press conference at UFC 318 that the reigning lightweight champ has earned the right to compete for the BMF belt in addition to putting his gold on the line in a possible rematch with ‘Blessed’.