Max Holloway views Alexander Volkanovski as a secure wager over Ilia Topuria.
Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his featherweight title in opposition to Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) within the UFC 298 most important occasion Feb. 17 at Honda Middle in Anaheim, Calif.
Having misplaced to Volkanovski 3 times in title fights, Holloway finds it onerous to select in opposition to the champion – despite the fact that he’s coming off a knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in October.
“So long as Volk has the healthiest coaching camp, an awesome coaching camp, he doesn’t get harm in his coaching camp, it’s onerous to wager in opposition to Volk,” Holloway advised Kevin Iole. “However you by no means know. It’s MMA, Topuria’s a younger dude, so we’ll see what occurs. Lots of people are counting Volk out due to his final combat.
“The one motive he may get affected is that if he will get harm in camp, however I believe the teaching employees, Eugene (Bareman), everybody round there are too sensible to let Volk go in there harm. If I used to be a betting man, how do you wager in opposition to Volk? However we’ve seen extra wild stuff occur in MMA.”
Topuria is oozing confidence ahead of his first crack at gold. The unbeaten rising star even up to date his social media biography to UFC champion, however Holloway says typically you want that form of confidence to realize greatness.
“The arrogance is the arrogance you want, man,” Holloway stated. “In case you don’t have that confidence, you’re not right down to be nice. Some individuals assume it’s bizarre, some individuals assume it’s wild. Some individuals have that form of confidence behind closed doorways, and a few individuals have that form of confidence on social media.
“On the finish of the day, it’s what it’s. I’m not going to throw nothing on the man if that’s the arrogance he must go there and that’s the arrogance you must be in a world championship combat, to work onerous, to get up to now. It means quite a bit, and if that’s what it takes so that you can get there then that’s what it takes.”
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