While not officially up for grabs in the UFC 308 main event, Ilia Topuria still believes Max Holloway's BMF status is at risk of disappearing.
As has been the case for the past two calendar years, lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev was being lined up to headline the promotion's annual pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi in October.
But with an injury set to keep the Dagestani sidelined until the end of the year or early 2025, the main event spotlight in the Middle East this time around will go to Topuria, the reigning featherweight champion, and all-time great Holloway.
The pair will do battle for the Georgian-Spaniard's gold, which he won at the expense of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February. "Blessed," meanwhile, garnered support for his latest chance to regain the belt by capturing the symbolic BMF strap with an emphatic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Putting this matchup together hasn't appeared to be easy, with both men accusing the other of delaying a booking. On Topuria's part, he originally suggested that he'd only share the cage with Holloway if the Hawaiian's BMF belt was also put on the line.
That wish hasn't been granted, but "El Matador" claims not to be bothered...
Topuria On lack Of BMF Stakes At UFC 308: 'I'm Just Concentrating On My Title Defense'
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Topuria looked ahead to his first defense of the featherweight gold this fall.
The champ confirmed that just his title will be up for grabs come fight night on Oct. 26. But according to Topuria, Holloway will still lose BMF status should "El Matador" deliver the kind of performance he's expecting in the UFC 308 main event.
The BMF title is not going to be on the line," Topuria said. "To be honest, I don’t care. They took that decision and, at the end of the day, it’s like, when I’m going to beat him, he can’t say he’s a BMF or however they want to call him. I’m just concentrating on my title defense and that’s it. I don’t care about anything else.
Topuria will have the chance to make good on his confident pre-fight predictions in close to two months' time, when his newly started divisional rule meets about as tough a test possible from its first challenger.
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