The lightweight title scene is totally stacked at the moment. While some fans are looking forward to Ilia Topuria settling his beef with Paddy Pimblett, others believe the legitimate contender for the title next is Arman Tsarukyan, who missed his chance at UFC 311. Meanwhile, the 2-time featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, has another name in mind for Topuria’s next first lightweight title defense.
Much like Chael Sonnen and some of the other analysts, Alexander Volkanovski is not refuting the fact that Arman Tsarukyan is the most deserving of a title shot. Why? Well, the Armenian star lasted #1 in the lightweight rankings, so there’s hardly anything to argue about. Meanwhile, the post-UFC 317 main event face-off between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett has Volkanovski wondering if that’s the direction Dana White and Co. are planning to take.
“Obviously, Arman Tsarukyan’s probably meant to be the guy [to fight for the title]. Paddy Pimblett, they did the face-off. There’s a bit of bad blood. I don’t know if that’s happening,” Alexander Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. Well, he isn’t opposed to any of these options for Ilia Topuria, but ‘The Great’ believes that BMF champion Max Holloway’s win over Dustin Poirier has put him in the race for a title shot as well.
Max Holloway may have fought an outgoing fighter in Dustin Poirier, but ‘The Diamond’ was a top 5 fighter in the division. So, with this win, Alexander Volkanovski believes ‘Blessed’ could find himself in a rematch against Ilia Topuria. Otherwise, it might just be Holloway defending his BMF title once again, since he’s already called out any fighter who wants his strap.
“If it is, [then] all right. So be it. But with Max, Max’s next fight could probably be for the title. I think that would be fair. We’ll see what happens,” Alexander Volkanovski added. “If not, maybe another BMF fight. But I agree with what he said. He kept it short because he wanted to give Dustin his moment, and he was just saying, ‘If you want the BMF, come get it. Otherwise, I wanna settle some beef with the champ,’… which would be interesting.”
MMA: UFC 300 – Gaethje vs Holloway Apr 13, 2024 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Max Holloway blue gloves reacts after defeating Justin Gaethje not pictured during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena Nevada USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 20240413_mcd_su5_156
Well, Max Holloway might have gotten some endorsement from Alexander Volkanovski, but Ilia Topuria doesn’t seem too interested in running it back. Moreover, the Georgian-Spanish star even trashed ‘Blessed’s status as the BMF champion during a recent live stream. Here’s what he had to say.
Ilia Topuria questions Max Holloway’s BMF status
During a recent live stream, Ilia Topuria collaborated with the Nelk Boys, where he touched upon his former rival, who holds the BMF belt. Given that his win over Max Holloway was decisive at UFC 308, ‘El Matador’ can’t seem to comprehend why Dana White allows ‘Blessed’ to hold that BMF when it should be him having the BMF title along with the lightweight title.
“That’s not my problem. I just knocked him out. How can you still be the BMF if I knocked you out? I pointed to the ground in the first 10 seconds. You ran away,” said Ilia Topuria as he drove Kyle Forgeard in his Maserati. “Then I caught you anyway, and I put you to sleep. And you’re still the BMF? How’s that?” Well, Max Holloway is certainly not going to bow down when and if he responds to these comments from Topuria.
Well, Dana White has not mentioned anything about the lightweight title scene just yet. Besides Arman Tsarukyan, Paddy Pimblett, and now, Max Holloway, even Justin Gaethje is calling for a title shot as well. He just doesn’t want to entertain any other fight. Who do you think Ilia Topuria faces next? Drop your comments below.
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