"A game of exchanging blows without any strategy" - Ilia Topuria claims he saw "nothing special" in Max Holloway's UFC 300 win over Justin Gaethje
Despite the way Max Holloway stole the spotlight at UFC 300, Ilia Topuria is still not interested in a title defense against the former champion.
Speaking to Carlos Legaspi of ESPN Deportes after the event, Topuria claimed he was not impressed by Holloway's knockout of Justin Gaethje. 'El Matador' claimed that he did not see "anything special" and pointed to Holloway's three losses against Alexander Volkanovski while the Spaniard's last championship win came in a knockout against 'The Great.'
In Spanish, Topuria said:
"I saw nothing special, to be honest with you... In the end, a game of exchanging blows without any strategy behind it, [and] without any defense, that can happen. But that would never happen with me... The results are, of course, what [Max Holloway] couldn't do in 90 minutes [against Alexander Volkanovski], I did it in nine."
Ilia Topuria sat cage-side in the T-Mobile Arena for UFC 300 to witness the fight. As Holloway called him out in his post-fight interview, the cameras panned over to the featherweight champion, who did not reciprocate the energy.
Fans ridiculed Topuria on social media for his reaction, with Daniel Cormier even noting it on the broadcast after the main event concluded.
Max Holloway reacts to Ilia Topuria's expression after calling him out
With the audience mocking Ilia Topuria for his reaction to Max Holloway calling him out, reporters asked 'Blessed' for his thoughts on the matter in his post-fight presser. Holloway said he did not take anything of it, saying that Topuria could just be a "socially awkward" person.
Holloway said:
"Everybody's like: 'Oh, he's whatever.' But I don't know the dude. You know what I mean? I don't know if he's socially awkward or something, so maybe that's like just what he is. Fair play to him. I don't know how animated he is, so I ain't gonna take to it. This guy's a world champion, he's a killer."
With Holloway making a point to bulk for his return to lightweight on UFC 300, it is unknown if the former featherweight champion will return to his old division or remain at 155 pounds moving forward.
In his UFC 300 post-fight presser, UFC CEO Dana White announced that lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will defend his title in June against Dustin Poirier, potentially influencing Holloway's short-term career decisions.