Max Holloway Believes UFC Was Protecting Ilia Topuria From Him

Max Holloway believes the UFC was protecting Ilia Topuria from him and he plans to show why in their upcoming matchup.

Holloway will challenge Topuria for the featherweight title in the main event at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Topuria earned the belt with a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February. Many believe it Volkanovski’s short return timeline from a knockout loss against Islam Makhachev in October 2023 that affected his performance in that bout.

But Holloway doesn’t want to take anything away from Topuria for beating the man whom he lost to three times. However, “Blessed” believes the reason he hasn’t already faced Topuria is because the UFC was shielding the undefeated star. And the Hawaiian plans to show exactly why at UFC 308.

“A lot of people giving Ilia heat for the strength of schedule that he [Volkanovski] had. [Topuria] did what he was supposed to do. He won, plain and simple,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “He beat a guy that I had three times a [chance] to beat. And he did it, he had the shot. But I believe that UFC made me fight every other contender at [145 pounds] except for him for a reason. And we’re here now and I’m gonna prove, come Oct. 26, why UFC was [shielding] him away from me.”

Holloway seemed far removed from the title picture after his third title loss to Volkanovski in 2022. While Holloway rebounded with wins over Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung , it was his iconic BMF title win at lightweight against Justin Gaethje this past April that really catapulted him back to the title picture. Meanwhile, Topuria has finished five of his seven UFC wins, leaving behind the likes of Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett in his wake.