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Ilia Topuria has been fervently indulging in trash talk with Max Holloway ahead of their bout, and a UFC Hall of Famer suggests that it might all be part of a clever strategy.
Topuria is set to make the first defense of his featherweight title against Holloway in the main event of UFC 308, scheduled for this Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In the lead-up to his upcoming fight, "El Matador" has confidently labeled Holloway as an easy opponent, vowing to be the first fighter to knock out "Blessed." He has even predicted an early finish, suggesting that if they start trading punches within the first 10 seconds of the opening round, it will be lights out for Holloway.
However, Michael Bisping contends that Topuria's words go beyond mere banter; they constitute a psychological strategy to coax Holloway into a style of fighting that could heavily favor the undefeated Spaniard.
Topuria is very, very confident," Bisping said on his YouTube channel. "But you use trash talk as a psychological weapon to wear your opponent down, to piss them off, to get them mad, and to set a trap so it plays into your game plan.
"The Count" went on to acknowledge that while both fighters are highly skilled, he believes Topuria holds the upper hand with his explosive striking. He added that "El Matador" is cleverly toying with the Hawaiian's pride by persistently downplaying his abilities.
He's trying to mess with the ego of Max Holloway by saying, 'Come on then, let's do your trick. Come on, point at the floor, point at the floor. I encourage you to do that because if you do, you're going to get knocked out.' And of course, fighters are proud people; we take sh*t like that personally. We want to prove a point, and you never know, if Topuria does that, Max Holloway might just say, 'Okay then, you know what, brotha, let's go.' And if they do that, I believe it plays into the strengths of Ilia Topuria. He's probably got better one-punch knockout power, especially in the first round.
Topuria secured a knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 in February, capturing the featherweight belt. He has delivered four knockouts in his seven UFC appearances to date.
Meanwhile, "Blessed" is riding high off a last-second knockout win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April, securing the BMF title. Saturday night will mark Holloway's third shot at reclaiming the 145-pound crown.