UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has indicated he will fight Max Holloway at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi this October. Or at least he wants to. The Spanish citizen of Georgian origin wants to fight in a time zone where his fight will be Prime Time in Spain, the country where most of his fans are. And fighting in Abu Dhabi will allow him to do exactly that.

There is just one problem: lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. It was seen as a foregone conclusion that the Dagestani, the biggest Muslim star in the promotion would headline a card in the Muslim-majority UAE. Almost everyone was expecting that the 155-pound champ would take on official #1 title contender Arman Tsarukyan on the October card. But, that seems out of the question now because of a mishap.

Makhachev has reportedly suffered a hand injury, which is likely to keep him out of action for the next few months. This means that the October date is wide open and there for Topuria’s taking. And this is exactly what Topuria wants.

“I would prefer Abu Dhabi because of the timetable…..because in Spain it would be seen in ‘prime time’. Wherever they tell me, I’m ready and prepared,” Topuria told Spanish outlet ‘Marca’ in a recent interview. However, there is another issue with Topuria fighting in October: his fight with Holloway may already have a date.

There were rumors that the UFC was aiming for a UFC 307, early October date for Topuria-Holloway in Utah. It was also rumored that the two would fight on the UFC Noche (306) card in September, but all those reports have come to naught.

Just last week, ‘El Matador’ confirmed that the contract for his next fight had been signed, but he didn’t say anything about the date. This is why until any official word comes from the UFC, nothing can be said for certain about the date for Topuria-Holloway.

Ilia Topuria claims Max Holloway ‘forced’ into signing fight contract

One thing Max Holloway has never been accused of is ducking an opponent. For reference, ‘Blessed’ accepted a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, possibly the most dominant mixed martial artist ever, on barely a week’s notice.

This is why when Ilia Topouria claimed on Twitter last week that “the UFC has forced him [Holloway] to say yes”, there were not many takers for his claim. UFC CEO Dana White, in the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, confirmed what everyone already knew. “I don’t think you ever have to force Max Holloway to fight,” the head honcho said.

Topuria, of course, dominated Alexander Volkanovski to become the new 145-pound champ at UFC 298. And since Holloway has lost not once, not twice, but three times to ‘Volk’, it is tempting to infer that he has no chance against Topuria.

This, however, cannot be further from the truth as ‘Blessed’ is probably the best boxer in the promotion and had close fights with a prime ‘Volk’ who was nigh unstoppable. His striking prowess and yet-to-fail-him chin make Holloway a very dangerous customer, as Topuria is expected to find out in their fight. What are your predictions for the fight?