Max Holloway Calls Out Ilia Topuria's 'Forced To Fight' Claim Before UFC 308

Former featherweight and current 'BMF' champion Max Holloway is all business entering his UFC 308 main event with Ilia Topuria next Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

Holloway has been with the UFC for over a decade and has fought some of the sport's best competition. These include names such as Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo, Dustin Poirier, and, most recently, Justin Gaethje.

In an interview with MMAFighting.com's Damon Martin posted Sunday, Holloway, who is making his second appearance of the year, called out Topuria for contradicting himself about the terms surrounding the fight and his decision to accept the fight.

"Last time I checked, the 'BMF' title is not on the line," Holloway said. "If anybody got forced to fight, it looks like him. You know, it came out of his own mouth. He said he's not gonna fight me unless the 'BMF' title was not on the line. It's not, buddy, so I guess he played himself on that one."

Regardless of what Topuria's ideal terms are, the fight is happening. At press time, Topuria is unbeaten and fresh off a KO/TKO win against Volkanovski in February to win the belt. Holloway has been itching to reclaim his featherweight title for nearly five years. Holloway is 0-3 against Volkanovski despite their second encounter being a heavily debated decision.

Holloway took the time to discuss his now-infamous "point down" motion, which is what he used to knock out Gaethje in the closing seconds of the fifth round. According to the Hawaiian native, there seems to be a misconception around its primary purpose.

"The point down [motion] is something that you do toward the ending of the fight," Holloway said. "If something's going good or the fight is entertaining, you give the other guy a shot. The moment is a moment for a reason, you know."

Topuria and Holloway is one of the last major UFC title fights of the year, with Topuria attempting to earn his first title defense.

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