Alexander Volkanovski believes Max Holloway can make Ilia Topuria fight ‘look easy’

Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t see Ilia Topuria holding on to his belt for long.

Topuria defeated Volkanovski in emphatic fashion this past February at UFC 298, landing a knockout punch that left the Australian legend out cold. With the win, Topuria captured the UFC featherweight title and became the first fighter ever to defeat Volkanovski in the 145-pound division.

The undefeated Topuria has several options ahead of him as his star continues to rose, most prominently a rematch with Volkanovski or a bout with recent “BMF” title winner Max Holloway. However, Topuria has also mentioned wanting to fight Conor McGregor or Brian Ortega, suggestions that have left Volkanovski scratching his head.

“Right now, he’s saying ‘No’ to everyone,” Volkanovski told Fox Sports Australia. “That’s the problem. He’s saying ‘No’ to Max Holloway, to Brian Ortega, to me, you name it. Not wanting to come to Australia, OK, but he’s saying ‘No’ to everyone. He’s saying ‘I don’t want to fight any of the contenders … I want to fight Conor McGregor’.

“That just puts a sour taste in people’s mouths. Because when you hold the belt, there is a responsibility comes with that. A pressure. You can’t just be saying, ‘Nah, nah, nah’, that’s crazy. He’s not going about things the right way. And obviously I don’t want to talk bad about the bloke, because he took his shot, won and now has to play the game which I understand. But be a champion. People got used to how I acted as champion. (But) now you’ve got a guy, who knows when he wants to fight? Does he even want a fight soon? Probably not. But the UFC will likely make him. So who knows? Maybe this is just his way of hyping things up, saying no to everyone and then, bang, he signs for a fight. I just hope he makes better decisions because I don’t think he’s a bad kid.”

Topuria’s rise to the top has been criticized by Holloway, who wondered why Topuria was able to slide past him for a title shot. Holloway has lost a trilogy of title fights to Volkanovski, but no other contenders have managed to definitively take his spot. He has previously fended off would-be challengers Arnold Allen, Yair Rodriguez, and Calvin Kattar, in addition to successfully defending the UFC featherweight title three times.

Regardless, Topuria followed up a win over Josh Emmett by beating Volkanovski, so he’s earned some bargaining power with the UFC matchmakers. Volkanovski warns that should Topuria end up fighting him or Holloway next, his title reign will be over before it’s begun.

“Credit to the guy, he got me,” Volkanovski said. “No excuses. He capitalized on what I was doing. But now he’s calling out Conor McGregor? Or Islam Makhachev? It’s like ‘Yes, you beat the champ,’ but I was coming off a knockout for that fight, quick turnaround and—look, I don’t want to go there—but the guy still has a lot more to prove. Because I know I can do a much better job. I didn’t fight my fight and he capitalized, so credit to him. But I know I can go out there and make that fight look easy.

“I also believe Max can go out there and make that fight look easy. ... I think Max wins that fight. Topuria is very dangerous, a great fighter. But I don’t think he’s as good as he thinks he is. And of course he caught me, right? So I can’t really say much. So I need to show everyone. I know I can do it, too. And I’m also quite confident Max can too, which is why I didn’t want him fighting Topuria before I did.”

Volkanovski definitely doesn’t want to see Topuria suddenly jump into the BMF title conversation. Holloway earned that belt with a dramatic buzzer-beating knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 to cap off a five-round scrap between veteran fan favorites.

Until Topuria has built up his résumé, Volkanovski wants to see Topuria wait his turn for such opportunities.

“Of course, he hasn’t,” Volkanovski said, when asked if Topuria deserves a BMF title opportunity. “There’s no way. That’s just silly. He’s not in a position to call any shots, same as he’s not in the position to call out Islam Makhachev. Of course, I get him wanting to do that. I did it myself, but only after having done the work.”

“Topuria has still got more to prove,” he added.