Max Holloway slams Ilia Topuria for being Conor McGregor “copycat”

Max Holloway believes Ilia Topuria is trying to be Conor McGregor lite.

Holloway is ready to challenge Topuria for the UFC Featherweight Championship this Saturday. The title fight will headline UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. This is Holloway’s bid to become a two-time champion in the 145-pound division.

There has been some back-and-forth trash talk between the two, and “Blessed” believes Topuria is trying to imitate Conor McGregor.

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Max Holloway Thinks Ilia Topuria is Stealing Conor McGregor’s Aura

During a media scrum, Max Holloway discussed Ilia Topuria trying to label himself a BMF. He said “El Matador” hasn’t earned that distinction and would rather be a Conor McGregor ripoff (via MMAJunkie).

“It just makes no sense,” Holloway said. “To me, I don’t think he deserves – you’ve got to earn that right. I don’t think he deserves that right. I mean, you guys know the guy he’s copycatting. This guy is a copycat down to his tattoos, to his aura, to the way he’s approaching fights. The guy is a copycat. At the end of the day, I think you’ve got to earn that moment, and I believe he could have earned it with Josh Emmett.

“In their five-round war, Josh Emmett was trying to swing. If you guys go back to that fight and watch what happened, when Josh Emmett tried to swing, someone shot, and someone held someone down for the rest of the fight. So, I think the moment needs to be earned, and he’s just trying to steal stuff. He’s already trying to steal one person’s aura, and now he’s trying to steal somebody else’s thing.”

This will be Topuria’s first attempt at a successful UFC title defense. He hasn’t been shy in telling fans just how good he is, and there will be pressure fighting a future Hall of Famer in Holloway.

Who will walk out of UFC 308 with featherweight gold? Tune in this Saturday to find out.