Ilia Topuria makes the first defence of his UFC Featherweight Championship when he takes on Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 on Saturday evening.
The 27-year-old took the gold with an upset win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February, but is already in no doubt as to where he sits in terms of the very best fighters in the sport.
The reigning champion Ilia Topuria wanted to make a point.
During the ceremonial weigh-ins for this weekend’s pay-per-view event, Ilia Topuria could be seen constantly talking to Holloway as the pair squared off for the final time before they meet in the Octagon. While the live feed didn’t capture what was said, footage uploaded to social media by UFC boss Dana White made things far clearer. In a clip taken just feet from where the two men were standing, Topuria could be heard telling his opponent:
“I’m the best in the world!”
The Georgian hero repeated this mantra several times while the pair were face-to-face. Later, in a media scrum, he addressed what else he had said to his legendary adversary.
“I told him: ‘I worked my ass off and victory is going to be my only option tomorrow night’. That’s the conversation I had with him. I didn’t get any answers from his side. He seemed to be very, very nervous. He’s struggling a lot.”
Ilia Topuria has predicted a first-round knockout in the fight as a result of his intereactions with Holloway this week – something he has only managed three times in his MMA career. If he can bank a fourth opening-round win in the biggest bout of his life, though, his claim to be the best featherweight in the world will be one that is near impossible to argue with.