Dana White admits regret over not putting the BMF title on the line for Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway at UFC 308
Dana White confirmed that Max Holloway remains the BMF title holder following his KO loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 on Oct. 26. However, the promotion's CEO admitted that halfway through the fight, it occurred to him that the BMF title should have been on the line for this weekend's title fight.
'El Matador' and Holloway went to war for two and a half rounds before Topuria's show-stopping power was on full display and he landed a massive right hand before following up with a left hook that all but ended the fight.
The Hawaiian's legendary chin was cracked for the first time in his career, a moment that MMA fans will remember forever. Following the event, White appeared in front of the media where he reflected on the featherweight title fight, saying:
"Topuria's belt was on the line [at UFC 308], Max was trying to take that. I want to say it was like halfway through the second round, I said, 'S**t we should have put the Bad Motherf**ker title up on this fight too, because these guys are both it.' But, I don't know. I don't know what we'll do with [the BMF title] yet. But Max still has it."
Check out Dana White's comments below (16:30):
Dana White says the UFC "have to" go to Spain in light of Ilia Topuria's surging stardom
ufc-308-you-re-going-end-really-really-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Ilia Topuria might have the best start to a UFC championship reign in the history of the sport.
He handed Alexander Volkanovski the first featherweight loss of his career when they clashed at UFC 298, knocking out the Australian in Round 2. In his first title defense, the Spaniard took on Max Holloway and stunned the MMA world by knocking out the Hawaiian in Round 3.
With Volkanovski and Holloway regarded as two of the greatest featherweights of all time, 'El Matador' could not have kicked off his title reign any better.
As such, Dana White made it clear that the UFC has to take the 145-pound king to Spain to perform in front of home fans. During the post-fight press conference, he said:
"Yeah have to get it done, we have to figure this out. I hate going to soccer stadiums, I like arenas better. But if that's what we gotta do, then that's what we gotta do. Yes, we need to get to Spain." [18:40-18:54 in Dana White's aforementioned interview]