Max Holloway questions Ilia Topuria's fighting IQ

Max Holloway warns UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria not to fight him.

Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) challenges Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC 308 on October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Holloway earned his title shot after knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 to win the BMF belt in April. In the final seconds of the fight, Holloway pointed to the center of the Octagon and enticed Gaethje into a “Rock'em, Sock'em Robots” style exchange that resulted in a legendary knockout.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Topuria said if Holloway used that energy early in the fight, it would lead to his downfall. He also predicted that he would be the first to knock him out.

“I saw an interview where he said, 'Bring the last 10 seconds to the first 10 seconds of the fight,' which means his fight IQ might not be that high,” Holloway told ESPN. “His athleticism and his power and strength are there, but (he) might be lacking a little bit of fight IQ. After I said that, I was like, 'Brother, you gotta work on your brain, kid.'

“I mean, there are reasons, there are opportunities, there are chances to do something like that. We'll see what happens. If he does it, how do I step back from that? That'll be fun. I've never seen him have a moment like that with anybody. So, to do it against a guy who loves that kind of thing, we'll see. I'm excited that he's saying something like that.”

Topuria has made bold claims, such as saying Holloway would be an easy opponent and that he would beat Holloway and former champion Sean O'Malley on the same night.

Holloway rejects the idea that “El Matador” gets under his skin.

“No, why? What did I say or do to show that he was getting on my nerves? That's news to me,” Holloway said. “It's weird. Nobody can really get on my nerves, bro. If we weren't fighting and we didn't have a fight booked, I'd be kind of annoyed just because we didn't have a fight booked.”

“But at the end of the day, we're booked, October 26th. I get to punch you in the face, kick you, hit you. I get to fight you. Why should I be mad about what he's doing? The guy is writing checks that his body might not be able to cash. The best part of all is that we find out on October 26th.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.