"Stop the Conor nonsense" - Fans react as Max Holloway's attempt to mock Ilia Topuria's spoken English during live interview backfires

The countdown to the upcoming Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway clash is heating up with both fighters launching fresh shots at each other during their recent live interview. The pair will headline the UFC 308 pay-per-view event which goes down on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Topuria and Holloway recently engaged in a fiery exchange in an ESPN MMA interview to preview their upcoming clash. Topuria, confident in his striking skills, has challenged Holloway to meet him in the center of the cage and exchange punches in the first ten seconds of the fight. On the other hand, Holloway was unfazed by the challenge and even accused Topuria of having questionable cardio.

At one point in the interview, Topuria seemingly struggled to articulate his thoughts, leading Holloway to seize the moment and mock his rival's English skills. However, Holloway's comments didn't land as intended, with many fans on X disapproving of his remarks. Moreover, Topuria's response, where he highlighted his multilinguistic versatility, suggested that Holloway might have lost the verbal exchange.

One fan took to X and wrote:

"Journeyman Holloway tries to mock Topuria's English, but it backfires spectacularly when Ilia effortlessly flexes his multilingualism."

Check out the X post below:

Other fans wrote:

"Love Max, but he got floored with that. Be a professional, stop the Conor [McGregor] nonsense."

"Topuria cooked both their faces red."

"English is Ilia's 5th language and he still cooks Max."

"Absolutely flexed on him there. He’s gonna do one better by being the first man to spark him out in the octagon also."

Check out some of the reactions below:

Fans react to the fiery exchange between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway. [Images courtesy: @TopuriaLand on X]

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Daniel Cormier praises Ilia Topuria's approach in live interview with Max Holloway

Daniel Cormier believes Ilia Topuria showed strategic brilliance in his recent face-to-face interview with Max Holloway ahead of UFC 308.

Topuria, the reigning UFC featherweight champion, will defend his title for the first time against Holloway after his stunning knockout victory against Alexander Volkanovski. Cormier, speaking on Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen, commended Topuria’s approach, noting that he successfully got under Holloway’s skin.

Cormier emphasized how Topuria’s confidence and willingness to discard past admiration for Holloway played in his favor. He said:

"You got to see Max Holloway a little bit mad. It felt like Ilia Topuria has now gotten to the point where Max doesn’t like him…He respected Max in his career path and the things that he did. I don’t know that now, he respects him in that way, and I think it’s very smart of Topuria not to hold that respect and have that ‘like’ for Max Holloway."

Cormier added:

“Everybody loves Max. Max Holloway put him out with one of the most devastating knockouts we’ve seen in a really long time. Ilia Topuria’s not having any of that. He’s saying ‘I’m going to knock you out!’ This dude Ilia is so confident, but why wouldn’t he be? He’s the world champion."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (7:20):