Is Ilia Topuria Ducking Max Holloway?
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- So why exactly has the fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway been made yet? What's with all the excuses and is Ilia ducking Max?
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Anyone saying Max doesn’t want to fight is automatically sus.
Max should be answering questions about where the donation money went
@@Allmenshouldrespectallwomenexplanation
@@oliverolsen8077 he received money for the home restorations yet it’s nowhere to be seen??
Same for Ilia
@@Allmenshouldrespectallwomen respecting all women is absurd
Ilya’s reaction to Max knocking out Justin is priceless. Bro looks shook and I don't blame him
Except that he beat the guy who beat max 3 times
Everybody was shook and I think he was holding in excitement about a great performance rather than him being scared.
If only we had Holloway reacting to topuria winning@@hailacrunch4937
@hailacrunch4937 that doesn't mean anything MMA math doesn't work
Not to mention that was the most diminished version of Volk possible...he never should've been in there so soon after being ko'd by Islam
We should've known that this guy was gonna act like a diva after getting the belt
Facts.
We did, everybody knew that, that’s why nobody wanted him to be champ. He hadn’t even won the title and was already saying Max, Brian, Yair and Volk weren’t getting title shots
spaniard
@@mr_moo_mooglad I'm not the only one who had that thought too
Ilia thinks he's a way bigger star than he his...
I’m pretty sure he is a pretty big star where he is from, but he’s overestimating his importance to the average ufc fanbase for sure.
He tryna be the new connor and is on that path fr
@@ohgeezrick2019everybody is popular where they are from... That doesn't mean shit.
Hes massive in Spain and Georgia
@@guardianlynx1745 like hell he is. Fucking sean omalley is a bigger star then him hes an actual embarrassment
The obsession with young guys wanting champ-champ status immediately instead of defending needs to stop. Dana needs to stop letting these guys hold up divisions.
Dana just needs to come out and say that shit doesn't run here in this business. Stamp it out it's easily done they'd all pipe down if Dana was vocally against it
@@Dukestboy96Legit. I don't know any real fan that is impressed with double champ status these days.
@@modularoutput did any of double champs actually clear out their divisions? Amanda yes but again female MMA and the 140lb division wasn't even a division lol
@Dukestboy96 No, and that's a big part of it. Win title - don't defend in your division - challenge for double champ.
It's empty to me.
@@Dukestboy96 Only Jones and GSP actually did enough to justify it. Most were 1-2 defenses if any. Conor is the double paper champ with 0 defenses in either division 🤣
The issue with Illa Tiporua is that he thinks he's already a hall of famer rich athlete guy with 10+ title defenses and one of mma goats if not the GOAT himself, That's why people don't like him.
he wants to be mcgregor so bad
Yeah he seems to be a little bit ahead of himself. His opinion of himself doesn't equal his record at least not yet.
Yeah, I'm in no position to speak badly of Topuria's skills, but as a human to another human, I think shutting the fuck up and actually fighting someone (instead of vocally ducking all the top fighters because they're the "old generation") would do wonders for his public image outside of Spain or whatever.
I'm also really tired of MMA fighters trying to hide their shitty personalities behind "heel" or "troll" personas, mostly because with very rare exceptions (like Conor or Chael), they're all absolutely dogshit at it. Few things make me cringe or tune-out harder than Colby or Ilia. When grown men publicly spout childish, offensive, or insipid shit, and then hide behind the "but I'm a bad guy, lol" excuse, that's just exposing social insecurities that your fighting skills can't compensate for.
@@TenchigumiI think it comes down to him lacking the charisma to be a true star even though he’s a great talent.
@@rico14 Yeah, I think you're right.
Bro was shitting his pants
I disagree
To be real, the one shitting themselves was the whole arena... Ilia was calm and surprised
Nah@@HabloEscobar-7
@@HabloEscobar-7 Calm? 😂
how dumb you are?🤣🤫
I don’t think Ilia scared but rather his ego likes being in control. No way Max says no behind the scenes.
He’s not scared to get hurt, but he’s scared to lose. Jones has the same issue. I don’t think these guys are worried about getting hurt, they’re worried about getting embarrassed. I think it’s something that happens a lot with undefeated fighters. Fury was the same with Usyk.
Losing early on in your career can sometimes be a real blessing.
@@benjbutton that makes sense, if ilia loses now it would be a big loss, instead of losing early in his career in which he could bounce back much more easily
His ego likes being in control because he’s scared to lose control. That’s how ego works. The more insecure you are, the bigger your ego is.
Ilia was looking for volk to give the belt back after max knocked out
max is 0-3 vs volk
yes he definitely was wanting to get volk that second opportunity after Max knock Justin out
@@gamebred6995mma math does not work
Is this English?
i hope max out classes ilia for 5 rounds and makes him suffer. he needs humbling
Out classes for 3 and a brutal KO in 4. That way fans can’t say max got lucky.
Not a chance. Max game plan relies on the 1-2 and you know what counters that hard? Overhands.
@@ONEROUNDLEFTtheyll say that 100% if Max KOs him within 2 rounds
@boygonewhoopdataZZ the overhand only work as counters if people come in on a straight line. Not sure if you've ever seen max fight but he's all about angles and rarely gets caught with an overhand
@@stormb8433 yup. I’ve seen it happen.
All these fighters want to immediately challenge for that second belt , can we get some defensives please? This is getting old
He's ducking harder than Michael Bisping ducked the top 5 when he was champ. To quote Yoel: " Dana, give me the fucking boy"
Defend your belt a few times before you get a chance to go chamo champ, double champ shots should be earned.
Agreed. Gotta clean out the division or minimum 3 defenses against top 5 opponents in your division and champs coming up don’t count.
@@mikeiso8963he did spark the dude who cleared it and beat max in 2 rounds he’s not scared of max. Gaejthe got koed cause he went to the middle is he didn’t do that he probably would’ve taken it to decision.
@@mikeiso8963 like you extra added the last part only to make sure to still be able to hate on Islam xD
@mikeiso8963 I don't blame Islam at all he was #2 p4p and they offered him #1 of course he took it. The rematch was bc Charlie olives got a cut, again not Islam fault. BUT If he fights illa before defending against an actual lightweight that's when we can call em out.
@@Truhandle91 facts glad you caught it. I love how Islam fights and I wanna see him against Arman. He’s been talking about 170lbs since winning the title and I think it holds up one of the deepest divisions. Idk how much of it is him and what’s Ali but Dustin got a title shot off beating BSD off of Ali matching making max and Dustin to try and setup a rear naked choke 😂. He’s clearly one of the absolute bests but he’s not fought enough of the top 10 because they all ducked him on the way up and now they have to fight em and I wanna see it.
Ilia has got to be the most forgettable ufc champ right now, completely forgot this dude was the featherweight champ.
Me too. I don't even think I've seen any of his fights
How? He flatlined Volk. If anything Pantoja is forgotteble. I thought Erceg was defending the belt in August till I remembered the robbery
@@joerosadini951Josh Emmett? Jair Herbert? I’d look them up Ilia’s got some insane fights
@@goobeed I just rewatched him knock out volk it was impressive I'll check out his shit
It's been only 5 months
Ducking him more than Bisping did Yoel.
Islam makachev did the same thing
@@Allmenshouldrespectallwomenwho did Islam duck
That was a masterclass in ducking
@@AyeKay220 Ducked the whole top ten for old man Hendo lol. And he still arguably lost.
Yoel Romero was on gallons of gear, and Bisping already lost an eye to a PED cheater in Vitor Belfort. He didn't want to lose the other one to another PED cheater.
These kind of antics from some of the new champions elevate the legacy of someone like Izzy who not only captured the belt but put it on the line multiple times and fought like twice or thrice a year
He would be set to fight in October or September, not even 9 months since his title victory
@@carlosvg2286 someone gets it lol. He will defend this year.
He don't want to get that 10sec round 5 treatment lol 👇🥊
Short answer: yes
Long answer: yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess
Delusional fanboy 😂😂
@@ThermSupernwe found İllia's burner account.
@@ThermSupernimagine winning the 145 belt and immediately thinking you deserve a double champ fight at 155 - now THATs delusional
Hes not ducking max. The ufc lied to him by saying that max wouldnt sign. Ilia has said multiple times since 300 that he wants to fight max.
@brendanhall6961 He never said that his next fight should be in 155.. he said after Max he can go for the double champ... "Islam is the final goal" ... but you are just a hater so you don't see the truth))
I genuinely think the UFC is just telling both guys either one is ducking to make fake drama while they sort out logistics
THANK YOU. How the fuck are people still falling for this shit when we know for a fact that the UFC employs this negotiation tactic all the time?
He saw Max starch Gaethje and immediately started ducking lol
Deadass bro looked SHOOK😂
He’s going to spark Max. You guys are delusional
@@diamondlife8086 Love Max. But agree. Ilia to spark Max in late 2nd round, or 3rd.
he called him out after that fight just because you are pussy doesnt mean ilia is like u as well
No way we are even talking about ilia moving up…. He’s not Connor, no one wants another Connor… we want champs fighting. They are the best of the best we know that…..
You guys should make a “Top 10 UFC champs fans didn’t like or didn’t care for” video. Of course it would be subjective to the creators but maybe like create a list of 20 past or current champs known to be not liked by fans whatever the reason may be and then let everyone vote on it in a poll which creates the top ten list. Just an idea, I love all your content! 👊🏾
The McGregor comparison is too generous. While McGregor did not defend the Featherweight title after winning it, he did fight 3 times in the next 11 months. It has already been 5 months and Ilia does not even have a fight SCHEDULED.
After Max KOd Gaethje, Ilia said he wasn't nervous, he just didn't know the camera was on him... Simultaneously admitting he fakes macho for the cameras and that his expression was genuine.
I've always said I dislike the lack of a "champions schedule" clause I'm every contract. I don't think the champion should be able to pick ANYTHING about the fights they take. That's what it means to be a champion. Anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Hi guys, I cannot see the “join” button on your page, could this be because I am in Ireland? I would love to watch/listen to the full podcast. (The “join” button shows up on the official Liverpool FC RUclips channel for me which is why I’m confused it isn’t showing up on your guys’ channel)
Khabib always stressed the importance of getting good English skills. Illy can't communicate effectively with the fans when it mattered the most.
Another point to add was that right after Max’s win at 300, Ilia publicly stated he wants to fight Max for the BMF but not a single mention of the 145lbs belt..
The BMF title should be like the money in the bank briefcase. If you have it you should be allowed to cash in a title challenge at any time
I don't recall anybody giving Connie any sh*t for not defending the FW belt after beating Aldo. He held on to that belt without defending it so he could fight for the LW belt
Max wants to fight, Ilia wants to fight, and UFC has a card in mind. I don’t think anybody is ducking anybody here
you need to make a video on Jon Jones ducking The real Heavyweight champ Tom the Skyrim npc Aspinall
The ufc is definitely telling topuria that max is the reason they haven’t made the fight and vice versa when it’s the ufc that is preventing it from being made
I think I never seen this much of hate for a guy that speaks perfectly in the cage and is just not that good at trashtalking. You people are so lost with Ilia, he said from the start when Max won the BMF that he wanted that fight with both belts in game. Who was the one that said not to that? Not Ilia…How is Ilia going to be scared if he believes that fight is easier than Volk and did not deny any match until now and even going a weightclass up. I think Ilia has not sold a good narrative in USA but you guys are hating him so so much when you should just criticase him as a fighter, and as that his one of the best
I don't know if it's the language barrier or what but Ilia has some of the most cringe social media posts of any UFC champion ever.
He literally posted thanking HIMSELF like a dipshit.
Defend the title or get stripped. The same goes for the other weight classes. It's really that simple.
Max been trying fight DC for years. Dude fears nothing
I would guess both agreed to the fight, it's just the where and when between Dana and Ilia holding it up. Ilia wants it in Spain, and Dana probably wants it for November at MSG. Imagine Conor and Ilia on the two top fights on the MSG card. Big money.
5:54 Bruh this isn't a bad stylistic match up for Topuria if anything it's better for him. Max got outboxed by a midget Volk in the pocket my guy, what do you think Topuria will do? His style is getting in close range agains taller opponents and fighting in the pocket. Nobody outboxed Topuria in this division
GSP vs Silva is the biggest fight they never made. That and Silva not getting the LHW belt before Jones showed up. He would have beat everyone that had that belt baring maybe a few.
They should make a rule that a champ must defend at least 3 times before they get the opportunity to become double champ. That way they’ll be incentive to defend their title more often
As much as I'd like such a rule, that'll never happen; this is prize fighting and the UFC will never handcuff their ability to freely matchmake like that.
so everyone forgetting 0-3 vs Volk just because that Justin's fight?
Illia doesn’t want you to fight I think it’s very clear.
I'm of the mindset that you're not a full champion without defending the belt. Just like how people would feel different about Strickland or Jamaal if they defended there's
Ilia is the most beautiful good looking skilled warrior in UFC.piece of art.appreciate the beauty guys
i think whats happening is that the UFC is making this complicated and confusing on both sides. UFC probably wants to book max and ilia on the sphere but they also want to make the conor fight happen at the sphere. So they are purposefully delaying the confirmation on the ilia and max fight by blurring details until conor makes it clear that he will not fight.
I love how everyone thinks Max is going to look as good as he did against Justin when he has to cut that muscle and deplete himself to fight again at 145 😂 Topuria vs Max is going to be a lot closer then people think.
I actually don’t think it’ll be close I can see topuria finishing it lol
He is definitely ducking him max doesn’t care about the belt as much as beating the best guys out there and he doesn’t move backwards he is ready to leave it all on the line and get knocked out… like Justin learned lmaoo
Illia said 😯🥺😢
Love you guys, but how do you remember James Irvin and not Forest Griffin?
Ilia is spoiled and has be running without a doubt
Chael Sonnen seems to be the only one that understand what Ilia is doing with all the nonsense he speaks, "Ilia is tricking his opponents with his talking to underestimate him" and we see it is working perfectly, everytime he spits some yapping Volk and Max loose it and engage in X back and forth, when Ilia dont even manage his social media himself he has a crew that go and post anything to sell fights, Ilia have said he dont pay attention to social media and barely spend time himself on it, so he well accepted to be the hated villain and it is working every single mma fan is talking about this fight and is going to be the most anticipated and biggest fight of the year if Alex dont fight at heavyweigh.
what is this a cafe Nero product placement?? damn
Volk is the only person that can beat Max at 45 IMO
Dustin could
Movsar Evloev would be an interesting one.
Can Dustin even make 145@@kevinbissinger
@@kevinbissinger 145 Dustin would probably look like a ghost
@@insertgenericusernamehere2402 I’m sure he could but I don’t think he would tho
Honestly I think that english speakers dont like Topuria that much simply because they dont have access to much of his content/interviews. In the Spanish conmunity the guy is a hero.
I dont think he is ducking Max, however, I do think that he is trying to have some vacations and enjoy the belt.
Biggest shame is that topurias English accent sounds weird because his shit talking in Spanish is great
@@omareldaas-ps5yh totally agree!!
The great escpae thumbnail 😂
I don´t think Topuria is afraid of Holloway; but he thinks he is to big for him; which is freaking dumb.
The term ducking has been so rarely used in mma until the past few years. New fans? Impatient kids? I dont get it. The fights that are supposed to happen, almost always happens.
Ty for the content uploads and overall quality and really the ...
CONSISTENCY!!
LOVE THE TOPICS of conversation, you guys are one the lost of top 3 go to channels for MMA ty
Ilia has a 0% chance of getting a crack at a lightweight title without defending FW
I'm only part way through the video but y'all remember when ilia said he wants the bmf belt on the line? Maybe the UFC are hesitant and that could be causing the holdup
Topuria _"said"_ he wanted to move up-but does he, really? But wait, notwithstanding Connor, moves up in weight class without defending his title, at least once?
Illia probably doesn't want to give Max the chance to be a double champ, especially when that's something Illia wants for himself.
Ufc pays their fighters awfully.. keeping that belt for as long as possible to allow yourself to exhaust all sponsor opportunities is quite a good business move.. as long as you dont look like your doing this deliberately.
Anyone here after the news?
Max wanted to fight Khabib when Khabib was recognized to be the best, and Max acknowledged it, but was hot for the fight at the press conference-and Torpuria ain't no Khabib.
Max is beloved. But that illia guy is something evil.
He kinda scared me when he asked max to bring the same energy in the first 10 seconds
Max fought someone when his home land was burning down. He literally will fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. The guy been trying to fight DC for years. Ilia made a movie about himself getting the title that nobody watched and he hide after he seen max knock out Justin, he’s afraid to lose.
1:35 that's impressive lil afro you got there 😅
Neros, good choice of brew as the high streets go.
These fighters riding the accolades of other fights is annoying Illia riding Volks win and Jamal riding Izzy’s win
There no fucking way that Max is refusing a fight with Topuria especially when Max knocked out Gathje the way he did, Topuria looked concerned and he never had to fight Max to get to the champ like everyone else has had to do and if he want's to go for a second title he needs to defend the belt he just won a few times before he even gets that option. Champ champ status used to be hard to do and it was special but now people win a belt and want a shot at another weights title right away, how about totally dominating your division 1st before trying for another title
Looking at Ilia's face after max knocking out Justin. You can just tell he crapped himself. I could smell it through my tv. That's how bad he shit himself. He's always sweating when someone asks him about Max. He's 1000000000000% scared.
The boys said every single option other than the OBVIOUS answer…… ilia doesn’t think he can knock out Max the chin is titanium
“he’s not saying he doesn’t want to fight Max” ahhh yes he’s only saying he’d fight him if the BMF belt is on the line. Are you guys scared to call out how cowardly he’s looked since winning the belt ? dude is putting stipulations in a fight like a wwe match
men you have no idea, he's having a child in a few weeks he doesn't want to fight before octobre that's it.
Dude would be so smart fighting Max at either 145 or 155 and claiming to be a P4P king
This is a joke right? The man put 15-0 before fighting volk but he’s not confident y’all are straight jokes
What’s up ilia
Max is the BMF... If I could pick any 🏆 to fight for, that would be it! I just think there should be a BMF belt for the best strikers to compete for in every weight class
If you're worried about style match-ups, you are scared homie
Ilia is scared of the Blessed
I think the UFC was the one sending mixed signals to the fighters
Ilia is just gonna pull a Germain de Randamie and just never defend
I mean like the guys said, he's more likely trying to pull a Conor. Just snatch belts, hold on to them for an age, and then disappear into another sport if possible.
@@Tenchigumi Yeah I think thats what Ilia thinks he's doing, but he doesn't have nearly enough star power to figure it out
@@chazer7800 Yeah, definitely not for mainstream fans outside of his bubble, but I do wonder how big he is in Spain/Georgia; being in an echo chamber of praise can do weird things to a man's ego.
It’s been 5 months lol I get people don’t like topuria but what are we doing
The Conor argument isn't there for Ilia for a few reasons (IMO of course.) He never got the headlines Conor did. He talked trash sure but when Conor made his damn debut a whole country was flying out to watch him fight. The first between him and Dustin most people tuned in for that fight. I have yet to run into anyone for that event (UFC 178) that could tell me that it was Johnson Vs Cariaso for the main event. Everyone wanted to watch Conor. He took on all comers in fighting Mendes short notice which Conor was getting beat up the first round comes out and KOs him with a blown ACL. Wait a few months later and he literally ONE PUNCHES JOSE ALDO and only a couple of months later wanted to go up and fight RDA then all the Diaz stuff happened. The difference of the careers for me is that as impressive as Ilia is (he's amazing) he NEVER captivated people like Conor did at the same stage of their careers. Another factor, most people I talk to in the MMA community will discredit Ilia's KO over Volk. "Oh, Volk got KOd by Islam not long before they fought so his chin was gone." Ilia needs to defend his belt in impressive fashion and then make a legitimate claim for double champion status. For me, he is absolutely phenomenal and I love watching him fight. But he just does not have the same following Conor had or HAS for that matter. I think it's time people accept nobody ever will have the same following as Conor. Maybe one day someone will be bigger than Conor who knows but eventually we need to stop comparing every single "super stars" career to Conor. It takes away from upcoming fighters and doesn't allow growth especially when you have a guy like Conor (who let's be honest is nearing the end of his career if not done with it) holding up the whole picture.
Volk getting knocked out as badly as he did by Islam, and then coming back so quickly with Topuria, he just wasn't the same guy. You could see that at the press conference, and in the first minute of the fight. A knockout can change a fighter, it can end a fighters career.
Uh, Topuria KO'd the guy Holloway lost to 3 times. Holloway's likely having trouble getting back down to 145 after gaining the appropriate weight to move properly to 155.
Funny how he's trynna create the A side when having the belt makes him upper echelant as is,goes without saying he's trynna prove he deserves to be there by turning down fights.. gotta love psychology
Max would fight Ngannou even if he had the entire USMC behind him. No fear. No quit. Toughest there is. Even in defeat he’s still the toughest dude in the octagon.
3 words. Max by KO
I love ilia’s fighting style, but he is absolutely ducking max. If you say max don’t wanna fight, then you’re just scared so bad that you’ll tell a lie nobody on earth would believe just to avoid the fight. Real disappointment as a “ champion “ so far.
i wanna like ilia cuz he’s such an exciting fighter but he’s making it reeeeally fucking hard right now 💀
Only way Topuria wins a belt at lightweight is if Arman and Islam both leave the division. That man was getting cracked by Jai Herbert
ON POINT , MAX EITHER COULD DEFEND DA B.M.F. BELT OR FIGHT FOR DA FEATHER WEIGHT BELT OTHER OPTION FIGHT ISLAM FOR DA LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BELT . MAX DEFINITELY NOT HOLDING UP ILIA FOR A FIGHT MAX DOESN'T HAVE TO HE HAS OPTION ILIA DOESN'T HAVE ILIA FIGHT ALEX FOR THERE REMATCH . SERIOUSLY ILIA CAN'T BE PUTTING OFF FIGHT GOING ON 6 MONTHS ILIA HAVEN'T HAVEN'T DEFENDED DA FEATHER WEIGHT BELT YET NOT ONE TITLE DEFENSE UNDER HIS BELT . ON POINT DA FEATHER WEIGHT BELT WON'T RUN AWAY IT WILL ALWAYS BE THERE WITH OR WITHOUT ILIA . MAX BETTER OFF FIGHTING ISLAM OR FIGHTING OLIVEIRA FOR MAX B.M.F. BELT AS FOR ILIA TO MUCH DRAMA 6 MONTHS HE STILL HAVEN'T SIGN ANY CONTRACT .
I speak a little Spanish and watch a couple interviews of Ilia's, and it seems from his interviews he promised that if he won the title he would give the Spanish fans and the government his first title defense in Spain's Prime Time 10 pm PPV start time. Spain is 6 hours ahead of the United states eastern time zone so if his fight goes to the cage at say midnight its 6AM in Spain. I said all of that to say I think Ilia is holding out for a time slot so he doesn't look like a liar. Also he seems a to have a little bit of an ego and a chip on his shoulder in these interviews. He down plays Max like Max doesn't deserve it since he won a fight in a different weight class. He makes fun of the BMF title and anyone who fights for one, he said it was a journeyman belt and stuff like that. The difference is Ilia doesn't act like Conor and put on a show, Ilia says all these things in a very serious way that comes across as conceded and a bit bitter. So I think Ilia made promises to people in Spain and he will hold out until he get it. That is why he wanted to fight in the middle east since its only a 2 hours difference from Spain and Abu Dhabi!
Ilia is a diva, you could tell by just looking at the guys social media, how he dresses, how he acts, how he talks, the look on his face etc etc. Vanity and ego is a thing that spaniards struggle with it seems
Could he be angling for champ champ though? Why wouldn’t he? He’ll earn millions in a ppv pts bout while not even risking his belt. A no risk way to guarantee to multi million dollar paydays. He’s of course not scared of max given he’s wanting Islam who is WAY scarier in the ring but he can simultaneously respect max enough to know it’s a big enough risk that his chance to try this diminishes if he takes him first.
Highly doubt it’ll work - islams team has to know despite the easy win, it’s not a proper defense in the eyes of the public. but pretty smart considering max can’t complain if he did.. max has lost multiple shots at the same guy Ilia just shadow realmed. & max just got his shot at the BMF belt up in weight.
Speaking of weight, i notice as a long time boxing fan originally that mma fans underestimate the significance of weight…and to a degree I get that. Fighters don’t often shuffle especially in the ufc vs the many distinctions that exist in boxing. But if you think that’s the same Max vs Justin that steps in the octagon at featherweight, you’re OUTSIDE your mind haha. If anything it proved his length, pop, and durability were always at lightweight. When max boils down, he loses that grit and power to a degree. Reminds me of Cotto at 140 vs 47. Went from a wobbling bobble head at junior to an ATG at full welterweight.
What might be being overlooked is max might be trying to close a speed gap. Ilia has both power and speed at that weight in spades. It’ll be a good scrap but Jesus are you forgetting what volk did to max? The first I’d defend max but after that it was ugly. Atleast in the last one. Imagine that 3rd fight but more power, faster, and a genuine nasty ground game. Still would pay to watch and max always has a chance.
But this truly does seem like a guy trying to maximize his title. I don’t think it’ll work and I think it’s not helping his image but I def could understand it
I like Tom's leering comments from the corner.
We cant say for 100% sure that Ilia is scared...but...what we can say for 100% sure is that Max will fight anyone.
Ilia should just defend his title. He beats Max and another two contenders maybe he could challenge for 155. What Connor did was unique, and not a one has had that kind of hype train since. And him being Mystic Mac is what gave him an immediate shot at 155 without having to defend his title at 145. Ilia meanwhile has maybe 20% of that starpower currently. No one was really looking at him "as the guy" before he beat Volk... and tbf, is anyone reallyu considered the true champ until they have defended?
Ilia will fight Max no doubt. I'm guessing the delay is because he wants both titles in one fight. Anyway this fight will be worth the wait.
I don't think Ilia's particularly scared of Max (and his face after the knockout was just emphasising the moment). But I do think, like so many of these recent champs, he wants to drag out this belt, take the safe double champ fight instead of risking his belt with any competitive matchup.
All these dudes got soothing ass voices lol