Topuria wants to face Max Holloway next in Spain if there is no title shot given to him

For his forthcoming fight, Ilia Topuria only has legendary featherweight opponents in mind.

Topuria made it clear that he has championship gold in his sights after a convincing victory over Josh Emmett in the main event of Saturday's UFC Jacksonville card. He positioned himself as the top contender for the 145-pound crown. He specifically emphasised his desire to face long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski, who will next defend the title on July 8 at UFC 290 against interim champion Yair Rodriguez.

Topuria was questioned about if he would face Max Holloway if Volkanovski defeated Rodriguez and chose to pursue a rematch with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev rather than retaining the featherweight title.

“Busy, not busy, I don’t know if [Volkanovski is] busy,” Topuria said. “I’m the next guy in the line, I can wait. One of the best skills I have is patience. If they offer me to fight with Max Holloway in Spain, let’s do it. If not, I’m going to wait for my title shot.”

Similar to Volkanovski, Holloway already has his upcoming fight scheduled; on August 26, he will take on "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung at UFC Singapore. The former UFC champion is a hefty favourite to defeat Jung, which would keep him on track for a bout with Topuria, should the matchmakers decide to arrange one.

Topuria lives and trains in Spain, so Holloway is exactly the kind of name he imagines competing against there.

“One of the dreams I had was to become a UFC world champion and to bring the UFC to Spain,” Topuria said. “It’s going to be something huge for me to make my dreams reality, because that’s one of the dreams I had and I have.”