The response a UFC fighter gets when they are fighting out of their hometown or somewhere they have loyal fans is on a different scale. Lightweight and Featherweight fighter Ilia Topuria demanded that he would only fight Featherweight menace Max Holloway in Spain. Extravagant and outspoken as they are, every UFC fighter would want their important matches to be in their hometowns and that is something that former UFC Fighter Chael Sonnen gets.

Topuria is slated to face the wrecking machine that is Alexander Volkanovski in Australia and is currently preparing for that fight. Speaking about Max Holloway and a possible title shot, the fighter mentioned that he is okay without waiting on the title shot, provided he gets to dance with Max Holloway, but only in Spain. UFC legend Chael Sonnen understood where he was coming from. However, he did give him a reality check.

Sonnen’s Dished it Out – Calling it as it is for Ilia Topuria

UFC Legend Chael Sonnen has always maintained that transparency means a lot to him when it comes to talking with his fans and his YouTube viewers. According to fans, the fighter is factual and unapologetic about his views. His topic of discussion on his latest YouTube video happened to Ilia Topuria and his demand for a fight against Holloway in Spain.

“I mean if we took Ilia Topuria and we took Max Holloway and we took him to Spain, we’d better book about a 3800-seat venue. And we better be ready to give a lot of tickets away to the local DJs. But in Ilia Topuria’s mind, you could go pick a bullfighter arena and he’ll sell it out. That’s in his mind. There’s none of that, that’s true.“, observed Sonnen, shocked and confused about this demand from Topuria. “The biggest thing that Ilia Topuria has had this week is me. For sure… not even a maybe.“, he added.

The fighter then went on to deal out a harsh reality check for Ilia Topuria by saying, “They’re not asking to see him in Spain. They’re not begging for Ilia Topuria. They don’t know who he is.”, hoping to correct the ‘delusion’ that Sonnen thinks Topuria might have.

Ilia Topuria planting seeds – Volkanovski on hold till Holloway is in the rearview mirror

Ilia Topuria, who is coming off a fresh win against Josh Emmett , was planning on shooting for the title. He was preparing for a fight against one of the greatest P4P fighters in the UFC currently – the Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

In an interesting turn of events, Topuria has recently announced that he is okay with putting off the title shot and facing Max Holloway but it has to be in Spain. The fighter is on an undefeated streak of 14 consecutive wins and no losses. According to sources, Topuria was looking to end Volkanovski early on in the fight. But, with Max Holloway as his new target, the highly anticipated match-up for the Featherweight title might be stalled for a while.

Dive Deeper – Is Ilia Topuria the Future of the Men’s UFC Featherweight Division?

People are now waiting for Dana White to respond to Topuria’s demands. Will he face Holloway in Spain, on his own terms? Or will he have to comply with what the UFC president says? Will we see him fight Alexander Volkanovski for the title first? Or is Max Holloway the last boulder between him and his championship title?

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