When Max Holloway capped off his BMF Title-winning performance at April’s UFC 300 by landing an epic literal last-second knockout shot on Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuria stood in awe in the front row.
Two months prior to that instantly iconic moment that’ll live eternally in combat sports lore, Topuria had become the featherweight champion when he beat longtime champion Alexander via a highlight knockout of his own at UFC 298.
During Holloway’s post-fight interview with Joe Rogan in the Octagon, the new BMF yelled into the microphone knowing Topuria was in the crowd: “There’s an ‘El Matador’ and he’s running away from a bull at 145. Tell him to sign the darn contract. Spain, Hawaii, wherever.”
The UFC decided to pair the two elite mixed martial arts talents in Abu Dhabi in the main event of UFC 308 and fight fans were treated to an exemplary display of mixed martial arts with Topuria defending his title emphatically.
Topuria began the fight by standing in the centre of the Octagon, pointing down and inviting Holloway to brawl. Holloway did not engage and instead gestured like he was a matador.
Holloway found his rhythm as the thrilling opening round progressed, however, Topuria was effective with leg kicks early and kept the challenger off balance with an early takedown.
Topuria always looks to set traps for his powerful right hand – the same right hand that put Volkanovski to sleep – and Holloway was aware of it.
In the third round, however, Topuria landed flush with the right and it rocked Holloway. A flurry of follow-up punches and a devasting left hook is what ended up putting the Hawaiian star away.
Topuria improved to 16-0 in MMA with half of those wins happening in the UFC.
“Wow. I don’t know what to say. To beat a legend like Max Holloway, I don’t believe it,” a humble Topuria said after the victory.
Holloway had never previously been knocked out in his 34-fight career. He initially won an interim featherweight title in 2016 by beating Anthony Pettis. He later became a unified champion when he stopped Hall of Famer José Aldo in 2017. Holloway also defended the belt against Aldo in their rematch before outclassing Brian Ortega and Frankie Edgar before eventually losing the belt to Volkanovski late in 2019.
One reason Holloway took that special lightweight fight with Gaethje earlier this year was because the 32-year-old found himself stuck in featherweight no man’s land after going 0-3 versus Volkanovski during their title fight trilogy. All three of those losses were 25-minute decisions — unanimous decisions at UFC 245 and UFC 276 and one contentious split decision at UFC 251.
“What he couldn’t do in 75 minutes, I did in seven,” Topuria said leading up to Saturday’s event before predicting he’d win via first-round knockout. The fight lasted long than one round but Topuria still got the job done without requiring the scorecards.
Holloway had defeated every featherweight opponent put in front of him since 2014 who wasn’t named Volkanovski. Sandwiched between his third loss to Volkanovski and his win over Gaethje was a unanimous decision over Arnold Allen, plus a highlight third-round knockout of “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung 14 months ago. Holloway’s only other losses in the division were early in his career to Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
Topuria, 27, only debuted in the UFC in 2020 but over the past few years has developed into one of the most well-rounded fighters on the planet.
Stoppage wins over Bryce Mitchell, Jai Herbert, Ryan Hall and Damon Jackson preceded a thorough five-round win over Josh Emmett in the summer of 2023 that secured the Georgian-Spanish star his initial title shot.
Topuria added after UFC 308 that Volkanovski, who was at Etihad Arena watching the action in person, is deserving of a rematch and that he is open to that next.
Streaking featherweight Diego Lopes was also on hand in Abu Dhabi serving as the official backup fighter had either Topuria or Holloway not been able to compete. Lopes is also in the 145-pound title picture.