Ilia Ultimatum: Defend ‘BMF’ Belt Or I Rematch Volks!

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has agreed to defend his 145-pound crown against ex-division titleholder Max Holloway, but only if “Blessed” puts his “BMF” belt on the line, giving “El Matador” the opportunity to walk away with a second strap.

If not, Topuria will grant Alex Volkanovski an immediate rematch.

“Without the BMF belt, I don’t want him at all,” Topuria told The MMA Hour. “If not, I’m going to fight with Volk for the rematch. But because he has that belt, I’m excited about that. That’s why I want him. He’s been saying, ‘Right now I have a lot of options.’ He doesn’t have any options. Right now I’m the champion. I choose the date, I choose the place. He just has to be ready and he has to wait for the call. Whenever I want him, he has to be ready.”

Holloway won the “BMF” belt by stopping Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

“I think they want me to fight in The Sphere in September,” Topuria continued. “So we’ll see how they’re going to figure out the things. At the same time, we want to go in Spain. We want to bring the UFC here in the first trimester of the next year. That’s one of the reasons I want to fight in September [or] October, to be able to fight in the first trimester of the year.”

UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion is “definitely going to Spain” though a specific timeline has yet to be revealed.