Ilia Topuria seems to have a lot of contenders eager to fight him for his title defense. One of those is featherweight veteran, Max Holloway. ‘Blessed’ and the Georgian-Spaniard star have both expressed an interest in competing against each other sometime in the future. However, former double champion Henry Cejudo believes that this fight may not end well for the reigning 145-pound champion.

Max Holloway blew the roof off the T-Mobile Arena at UFC 300. In one of the most exciting fights to ever take place in the UFC, the former featherweight champion put lightweight star Justin Gaethje to sleep, and won the BMF title. Thereafter, he called out Ilia Topuria for a title fight. ‘El Matador’ had no problems fighting Holloway, but he had his one condition. The condition entails that Holloway must agree to put his title, the BMF championship, up for grabs to make it an everything-to-lose and everything-to-gain kind of matchup.

Despite Ilia Topuria’s willingness to fight Holloway, Henry Cejudo believes ‘El Matador’ could find himself on the losing end of the bout. This belief stems from the fact that ‘Blessed’ has shown exceptional resilience, and most recently, knocked out a fighter in an upper-weight class, something that even former champion Alexander Volkanovski couldn’t do.

“If a guy like Ilia Topuria can not put out a guy like Max Holloway [who has] endurance, a gas tank, and now that he’s knocking people out senseless, Ilia Topuria could be in trouble,” said Henry Cejudo on the ‘Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru and Henry‘ podcast.

The fans took notice of ‘Triple C’s take on the possible fight between Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria, and surprisingly, most of them sided with what the former double champion had to say.

Is Ilia Topuria afraid of Max Holloway? Fans react

Yes, Henry Cejudo could be right about Ilia Topuria, possibly finding himself in trouble against Max Holloway, or at least that’s what the majority of UFC fans believe. They were of the opinion that ‘El Matador’ wanted nothing to do with the Hawaiian superstar. One fan commented, “Illia is scared of that fight.” Meanwhile, some fans are starting to wonder if the current version of Holloway is the best one we’ve ever witnessed. “At 32 it’s actually extremely possible Max is ENTERING his prime,” another fan stated.

In addition to the reactions above, one fan ideated that Max Holloway may snatch the ‘featherweight GOAT’ moniker from Alexander Volkanovski if he can topple Ilia Topuria from his champion status. He said, “If Max wins he becomes the fw goat once again. Love volk but Max is my favourite.” 

Nonetheless, some of Topuria’s fans came to his defense and claimed that the Georgian-Spaniard could dictate any fight, whether standing up or on the ground. One fan said, “Topuria can take the fight to the ground if he wants to.. easy.” On the other hand, another fan cited Holloway’s struggles with weight cuts and stated, “Nah that cut weight is gonna kill Max, Tupuria by K.O. for sure.”

While some fans agreed with Henry Cejudo and how he analyzed the two featherweight stars, others did not so much. When one fan stated, “Best take Henry has had in a minute,” the other claimed, “no one cares henry opinions.”

Given the amount of experience Max Holloway has as an MMA fighter, we cannot dismiss him against Ilia Topuria. But it is important to remember that the champion has a stellar record and is still undefeated. Regardless, what is your opinion on this front? Let us know by dropping your comments below.