UFC featherweight champion Elijah Topuria said he will fight former titleholder Max Holloway when he sees fit.
On April 13 at the UFC 300 anniversary event in Las Vegas, USA, Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje in the fifth round and won the symbolic BMF ("Most Badass Motherfucker") belt.
"Without the BMF belt on the line, I don't need it at all. If he's not going to put it on, I'm going to fight Volkanovski, who deserves it more than he does. Max has that belt, that makes me excited. That's why I want it.
He says, "Right now I have a lot of options." He doesn't really have any options. Right now I'm the champion, the right to choose the time and place is mine. He just needs to be ready and waiting for the call. When I have the desire to meet him, he should be ready," Low Kick MMA quoted the Georgian as saying.
American UFC lightweight Michael Chandler spoke out about his upcoming fight against the promotion's former champion in two weight categories Conor McGregor.
Earlier it became known that the meeting of these fighters will take place on June 29 at the UFC 303 show in Las Vegas, USA.
"This will be the coolest fight in the last five years! The coolest fight since the Conor vs. Khabib fight. I'm not saying McGregor's opponent is as cool as Nurmagomedov. After all, Khabib is the best Muslim athlete on the planet. But on June 29, you will see the return of the greatest combat sports star in history. I will probably inflict such a terrible defeat on Conor that you won't see McGregor in the octagon again," Chandler wrote in X.
The number one ranked UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan is confident that he can defeat the division's current champion Islam Makhachev.
"Islam is a great, versatile fighter. But I think I can beat him. Everyone thinks that Islam is invincible, that he can't be defeated. I don't understand why people don't believe you can beat Islam. I believe in the opposite. Yes, Makhachev is good, but at the top level anyone can beat anyone. These are fights! You can go to the fight sick, not feeling well after the weight cut and so on.
Makhachev looked bad in his first fight against Volkanovski. He wasn't good because of the time zone change. A lot of details affect the fight," Tsarukyan said in an interview with Daniel Cormier.
Recall that on April 13 at UFC 300 Tsarukyan won a split decision of judges against Charles Oliveira.
Henry Cejudo, former UFC champion in two weight categories, shared his opinion on the upcoming fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Porier. Sehudo believes that this fight is extremely important for Dustin because it will be his third title shot.
"Stylistically, Makhachev is an improved version of Khabib Nurmagomedov with a better striking game. Great top control like Khabib. Islam continues to learn from Khabib and that makes him extremely dangerous. Khabib has already fought Dustin Puryear. And in general, it's a matter of life and death for Dustin, because this is his third title shot," - said Sehudo on the air of the YouTube show Pound4Pound.
Recall, Makhachev's fight with Puryear will take place at UFC 302 in Newark (USA) on June 1.
Kamaru Usman, former UFC welterweight champion, gave his prediction for the recently announced bout between the organization's lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and former interim champion in the division, Dustin Puryear.
"Don't write Puryear off. If Dustin finds his game, he can hurt Islam. But I think Makhachev's grappling just stunned everyone. And it will be too hard for Dustin Porier," Usman said on YouTube channel Pound4Pound.
The fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Puryear will take place at UFC 302 in Newark (USA) on June 1.
Recall, in his last fight, Porier finished lightweight prospect Benoit St. Denis.
Retired American mixed martial arts veteran Ben Askren has spoken out about former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamal Hill's crushing defeat to current belt holder Alex Pereira.
The American lost to the Brazilian by first-round knockout on April 13 in the main event of UFC 300 in Las Vegas, USA.
"I think Hill was too confident. He thought he could handle Pereira in the stand-up. Jamal didn't realize at all how hard Alex was punching. I think it's all ego's fault. Ego destroys fighters. People used to say to Hill, "Pereira's the best puncher in the world, he'll knock you out." And he said, 'No! That's not going to happen!"," MMA News quoted Askren as saying.
WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight boxing champion Artur Beterbiev responded to a question about the significance of the upcoming fight with WBA belt holder Dmitry Bivol.
It was previously announced that their bout will take place on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"To be honest, I don't dream of becoming an absolute world boxing champion. Because I came from amateur boxing, where the main goal is to become an Olympic champion. And it was the Olympic Games that "led" me to boxing, to be honest. But then I finished my amateur career and started professional career: then I started dreaming about one title, then - about the second title, and so on," said Beterbiev in an interview with Stomping Ground.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Charles Oliveira made it clear that he disagrees with the judges' verdict in his fight against Arman Tsarukyan.
Recall that on April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas, USA, the Brazilian lost to the Armenian by split decision of the judges.
"We should have finished Tsarukyan. The fight came down to the judges' decision, they made their choice and there's nothing we can do about it. In the first round I tried more to finish Arman and the judges gave it to me. The second round was closer, at the end I wanted to do a triangle hold but the judges gave the round to Arman.
In the third round, Arman was on top, holding me but not doing anything, and at the end I tried to choke him. But the judges gave the round to Tsarukyan again. Nothing can be done about it," Oliveira told Canal Encarada.
Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York is set to host a significant boxing event on Saturday, April 20. The fight card includes a match between Arnold Barboza Jr. and Sean McComb.
Charles Conwell will face Nathaniel Gallimore in a super welterweight boxing match at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.
