UFC veteran Daniel Cormier sees a method to the madness in the trash-talking from featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. As only weeks remain before he takes on Max Holloway at UFC 308, the Spaniard has been constantly calling out the Hawai native saying he will throw down with him in the first 10 seconds of the fight.
‘El Matador’ true to his name, aims to take on Holloway at his own game and get him into a brawl in the first 10 minutes of the fight, a facade, Cormier claims to have seen through!
The former UFC double champion claims that Topuria is setting up a trap for Holloway. He is getting the challenger all riled up and going in for a brawl from the very first minute of the fight.
In a recent YouTube video, DC explains why he thinks it is a trap and how it will benefit the Spaniard if Holloway falls for it.
“Guys this is clearly a ploy by Ilia Topuria…..He’s flat out challenging Max Holloway….Ilia’s hoping Max Holloway isn’t able to resist the urge to say okay….let’s do it.”
It’s a little bit like what Conor McGregor had done to Jose Aldo before knocking him out in 13 seconds. McGregor had riled up Aldo to a point where he knew the Brazilian would want his head on a pike before the day was over.
When the time of reckoning came, Aldo did exactly that. His hands twitched before he went in for the kill, McGregor saw him overextend and swiftly caught him with a straight left to become a two-division champion.
And given that Topuria has pretty much-embodied everything else McGregor has done, it isn’t exactly a surprise that ‘El Matador‘ would love for Holloway to make the same mistake.
And much like McGregor, Topuria has also been picking a fight with everyone and their mothers who are placing their bets on the BMF champion.
Topuria has a message for people picking Holloway
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani for his show on YouTube, ‘El Matador’ called out all the fighters who were picking Holloway to beat him,
“I watch the predictions of all the UFC fighters… all the bums. F*ck you everyone. After I’m gonna knock [Max] out, don’t even tell me ‘hello’ if you see me.”
Now, don’t talk to me sounds a bit more like a 5-year-old angry at his older siblings because he got made fun of for their TikTok reel and less like a world champion dismissing his detractors.
Regardless, the Spaniard isn’t backing down from a scrap.
In fact, he has doubled down and even started a feud with McGregor himself, calling him silly names like a middle schooler, after the Irishman accused him of trying to copy everything he does, from the trash talk to the giant tattoos on their chests.
