Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has made all sorts of predictions for his upcoming fight at UFC 308, but don't expect Max Holloway to step up to any of his so-called challenges.

The latest Explanation from Topuria was that he planned to march to the center of the octagon at the start of the fight and point to the ground, inviting Holloway to meet him there to begin trading bombs. It's a gesture that made Holloway famous, having done so years ago to spark a wild exchange in the closing moments of his fight with Ricardo Lamas, before doing it again at UFC 300 in one of the craziest last-second knockouts in history scored finish over Justin Gaethje.

Holloway says that the problem with Topuria trying to steal his move is that he doesn't even understand when and why he did it in the past.

“The point-down moment – ​​I don’t think he gets the point,” Holloway told MMA Fighting. “Ultimately, losing the point is something you do towards the end of the fight. When something goes well, the fight is entertaining, or you win, you give the other person a chance. The moment is the moment for a reason.”

Topuria promised that Holloway would give him a first-round knockout if Holloway actually hit him in the middle, throwing caution to the wind. Holloway doesn't rule that out as a possibility – just as he could leave Topuria face-down on the canvas in the same exchange – but it's a disaster in a fight that's supposed to showcase two of the best and most skilled fighters in the world.

“The belt is called 'Blessed Man Forever,' or whatever you want to call it, 'The Baddest Mother Effer,'” Holloway said, referring to the “BMF” title he won when he defeated Gaethje. “If the belt was the 'DMF', the stupidest mother, then maybe I would get caught up in it. It is far from that.

“Like I told you and what I told him, he talks about being a boxer – that doesn't necessarily reflect his boxer IQ, but we'll see what happens.”

Topuria challenging Holloway to fight him in a toughman-style brawl is just the latest trash talk from the featherweight champion ahead of UFC 308. He also recently said that Holloway didn't actually want that fight, but Instead, he was forced to accept the title shot after the UFC reportedly passed on a possible match against Michael Chandler.

If Topuria tries to get into Holloway's head with these constant taunts, he may be wasting his time, as the 32-year-old Hawaiian can only laugh at the accusation.

“The first guy I called (after UFC 300) was the guy sitting at ringside,” Holloway says, referring to Topuria. “It's funny. He says that, but then you can look at it: There's an interview where he says he wouldn't fight me if the BMF title wasn't on the line. Last time I checked, the BMF title isn't on the line.

“So if someone was forced to fight, it looks like him. It came from his own mouth. He said he wouldn't fight me unless the BMF title was on the line. That's not it, buddy. So I guess he was playing himself.”

Holloway admits he had a lot of options available to him after his stunning win over Gaethje, but the only fight he really wanted was the one he got at UFC 308.

“I wanted Ilia Topuria,” Holloway said. “I wanted the featherweight title. I wanted to be a two-time world champion. The undisputed title was exactly what I wanted.”

Holloway expects Topuria to make more nonsensical challenges and make all sorts of predictions about the fight between now and Saturday night.

For Holloway, none of that matters as long as Topuria puts his best foot forward and doesn't forget to take the UFC title with him to Abu Dhabi.

“Ultimately, if that's what he needs to get to the fight or through the fight or whatever it takes to get to the date, then so be it,” Holloway said. “Some people need that. They need that confidence. They have to boost their confidence in some way, and if that involves pumping his chest and pounding his chest and saying, “I'm the man,” then that's him.

“You can’t take it away. He got pretty far with this technique. So if he ultimately uses it for this fight, so be it.”