Max Holloway shares two-word reaction to potentially rematching Ilia Topuria at lightweight
Max Holloway has revealed he's open to rematching Ilia Topuria at lightweight, while responding to a fan who asked about the potential bout on social media.
Holloway and Topuria first faced off for the featherweight title at UFC 308 last year. 'El Matador' was making his first title defense, whereas 'Blessed' was looking to reclaim the title he lost to Alexander Volkanovski in 2019.
During the build-up to the fight, much had been made about Topuria's knockout power and Holloway's seemingly unbreakable chin. Many fans couldn't foresee the Hawaiian's chin finally cracking, especially considering he had just delivered one of the promotion's greatest-ever finishes when he stopped Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Unfortunately for Holloway, Topuria's power proved too much as he shocked the world by becoming the first man to knock out the 33-year-old in his professional career.
While it didn't seem as though the pair would be rematching any time soon, Dana White's announcement last week appears to have made it a possibility. The UFC CEO confirmed on social media that Topuria had vacated his title in order to facilitate a move to lightweight.
Topuria had previously expressed an interest in facing Islam Makhachev. However, there was no confirmation the pair will square off. This has led to speculation that Topuria may have to beat a contender in the division before facing Makhachev, which some believe could now be Holloway.
The Hawaiian native then took to social media to respond to a fan's question about the rematch, where he was asked if he would be interested in putting his BMF title on the line. Holloway responded:
"Of course"
Check out Max Holloway's X post below:
Alexander Volkanovski names fighting attribute he wants from Max Holloway
Alexander Volkanovski recently took part in a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, where he responded to questions by fans.
During the video, Volkanovski was asked whether there was one attribute from another fighter he wished he could have. Surprisingly, 'The Great' named Max Holloway's chin as the attribute he'd like most, despite both of them having suffered knockout losses to Ilia Topuria.
Volkanovski said:
"I don't know, I'm quite confident in my skill and everything... I mean, Max Holloway had the chin, you know? I still think like that would still be a crazy chin. I'd say 'chin' because that's how I've always looked at it. This is how it's always been for me going through my career. You always know that someone can catch you, you know? That's just the game... So, if you could sit there and have the chin, take away the only opportunity for someone to beat you, you're going to be pretty hard to beat, that's for sure."
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (22:50):