MAX HALLOWAY QUESTIONS ILIA TOPURIA PARADING AROUND WITH UFC AND 'BMF' TITLES, TOPURIA RESPONDS

Max Holloway was the “BMF” champion. Ilia Topuria knocked him out. So Topuria is the BMF champion now, right?

Apparently it’s not that simple, as Topuria’s incredible knockout of Holloway in the UFC 308 main event only secured Topuria’s featherweight championship. Holloway won the BMF title with a fifth-round KO of Justin Gaethje this past April, but UFC CEO Dana White never stated that Holloway’s title was on the line Saturday. White later told reporters Holloway is still the BMF even after the loss.

None of that stopped Topuria from parading around with two titles after beating Holloway, which “Blessed” was asked about at the evening’s post-fight press conference.

“Could you imagine [lightweight champion] Islam [Makhachev] walking around with two belts after knocking out [featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski]?” Holloway said. “Let that sink in. The belt was in a different weight class for a different reason. I think the fans make it happen, if the UFC really wanted to make it happen they would have put it up, but Dana said what he said, so he’s the boss man.”

Topuria was also asked why he was waltzing around with the BMF title in addition to his UFC title and he wondered why it wasn’t up for grabs in the first place.

“I never understand why they didn’t put the BMF belt on the line,” Topuria said. “It has to be on the line since the first day, but they don’t want to make it official, I’m going to make it official by myself.”

“It’s going to be a little bit weird for them to promote him as a BMF, but is what it is, no problem,” he added. “I’m going to keep it in my house. … Now, I’m the new baddest motherf*cker world champion.”

Prior to fighting Holloway, Topuria suggested he could challenge for titles in multiple divisions, targeting bouts with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Holloway was asked if he thought Topuria could get Islam next, but he still sees options at 145 pounds for Topuria.

“I don’t know,” Holloway said. “I saw Dana White talk about it, Dana White said that Ilia got a lot of contenders here, so we see what happens. Certain situations come up for certain fighters because of certain workload that they do, so at the end of the day if he gets it that’s cool, but probably not. He has Volk and Diego [Lopes] ramming down the door right now, so I think they might keep him down there.”

“It’s hard to go against Islam,” Holloway said when asked to evaluate the potential matchup. “His fighting style is a tough one. He likes wrestling, he likes striking now, he’s falling in love with his striking, so it’s hard to win against Islam.”

- Alexander K. Lee | @AlexanderKLee 

UFC FIGHT WEEK | #UFC308 | ILIA "MATADOR" TOPURIA VS. MAX "BLESSED" HOLLOWAY

 

SEAM O'MALLEY BELIEVES HE'S CLOSE TO BECOMING UFC'S BIGGEST STAR

LAS VEGAS -- Sean O'Malley believes he's very close to eclipsing Conor McGregor as the biggest star in the UFC.

The current UFC bantamweight champion will defend his championship against Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of Noche UFC at The Sphere in Las Vegas this weekend.

While the event itself is highly anticipated because of the massive production budget and is suggested to be "the greatest sporting event of all time" by UFC CEO Dana White, the fact that O'Malley was chosen to headline suggests that the promotion holds him in high regard. Should he emerge victorious, O'Malley believes the gap between him and McGregor will close significantly.

"I think I'm close [to catching Conor McGregor]," O'Malley told ESPN during Wednesday's media day. "I think Conor still has one more big fight in him, but the big question mark is if he can come back and beat Michael Chandler. I think he has one more huge fight. But if he goes out and loses his next fight, that's like six in a row or something? [His star power] has to die down eventually. Maybe not. But that's a big testament to how big of a star he is. If he loses, I'm there. I'm the guy."

McGregor has been out of action since July 2021. He was originally scheduled to face Chandler at UFC 303 in June but was forced out with a toe injury. An early 2025 return for McGregor has been targeted.

When asked what separates him from McGregor, O'Malley kept it simple.

"I fight, I'm active," O'Malley said. "Conor was good on the mic and he had a few good performances, but I'm consistent. Right now, I'm fighting a lot, so that's what I bring to the table."

McGregor was once a busy fighter. From his UFC debut in 2013 to 2016 he fought ten times, capturing championships at both featherweight and lightweight before venturing into a blockbuster boxing event with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. He lost by 10th-round stoppage but earned over $100 million. Since then, McGregor has only fought four times in the past eight years. By comparison, O'Malley, 29, made his UFC debut in 2017 and Saturday's fight with Dvalishvili will be his eighth fight in just under four years. Like McGregor, he is also targeting an eventual boxing match but suggested that it is not in his immediate plans.

"I do [think I'll box] but that's not my focus right now," he said. "I have a lot of big fights on the table after I [beat Merab]. I have said I'd fight [UFC featherweight champion] Ilia [Topuria]. There's Max [Holloway], Umar [Nurmagomedov] and Deiveson Figueiredo.

"There are a lot of options for me so it's not time to box right now. But there will be a time. Conor vs. Floyd [Mayweather] was requested by the fans. If I keep going out there and knocking guys out, it's going to get intriguing."

- Andreas Hale, ESPN