Ilia Topuria claps back at Max Holloway's "copycat" Conor McGregor claims ahead of UFC 308: "He wants to be me"
Ilia Topuria has dismissed Max Holloway's accusation that he is imitating Conor McGregor. At the UFC 308 pre-fight press conference, 'El Matador' addressed the claim that Holloway had about him ahead of their featherweight title matchup.
Topuria didn't give too much credence to what Holloway said, brushing off the accusation and instead turning it around on Holloway himself:
"It's going to be in the first round. I'll put a lot of pressure on him since the beginning of the fight, since the first round. He's been saying a lot, that I copy a lot of other fighters, but the reality is that he wants to be me, he wants to be the champion, and he wants to be in my place."
Check out Ilia Topuria's rebuttal to Max Holloway's accusation (18:13):
The bulk of the accusation stems from Topuria's similarities to former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. The two men have very similar tattoos and Topuria's brand of brash trash talk has also drawn comparisons to McGregor's own sharp tongue.
Furthermore, Topuria grabbed the featherweight belt from Volkanovski's table at the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference, much like how the Irishman did with the featherweight belt to José Aldo during the UFC 189 pre-fight press conference.
Topuria will look to become the first person to knock Holloway unconscious at UFC 308, which would distinguish him as one of the most destructive finishers in the promotion's history.
Ilia Topuria has been feuding with Conor McGregor
Due to the comparisons between the pair, Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor have found themselves at each other's throats. 'El Matador' recently engaged 'The Notorious' in an X spat, lambasting him for his recent run of form.
"100% Max has improved after fighting you. He must have realized that if he wanted to make a living from this, he couldn't be so bad as to lose to someone like you. Nowadays, he beats you easily. Dustin [Poirier] knocked you out in the rematches, Nate [Diaz] beat you two times, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] humiliated you, and Floyd [Mayweather] gave you a masterclass in boxing at 50 years old. Take a seat kid. You're a fake fighter."
While Topuria once eyed a bout with McGregor, that no longer appears to be the case, with many questioning whether the Irishman will even fight again.