Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria defended his title against Max Holloway at the UFC 308 main event that was held in Abu Dhabi.
The bout was the headline of UFC 308 and proved to be one of the most entertaining fights on the card. Both fighters promised a spectacular performance and delivered immensely. Topuria came into the cage swinging. He teased Holloway into the center of the cage before going in for a takedown. Holloway recovered quickly and started landing heavy punches and jabs to keep Topuria away.
Topuria learned from the prior round and came into the cage in the second round with hard kicks, but Hollway remained unmoved. The two continued to exchange punches with Topuria pushing hard and Holloway avoiding his jabs. Holloway tried to finish his opponent with a nasty jab in round three. Still, Topuria recovered fast and waited for an opening before landing a brutal left hook that sent Holloway to the floor. He followed with hammer fists and ground pound before the referee stepped in and ended the bout.
Although the fight was a brutal one, both fighters left the cage with mutual respect for each other. Topuria spoke about the knockout punch and paid homage to Jolloway during his post-fight interview.
“I caught him with many punches but exactly with that right hand, I felt it,” Topuria said about the knockout. “I just saw it in his face. He started making some steps back. You don’t see that often in Max Holloway. I felt that. My brother told me from the corner keep pushing, keep putting the pressure on him, this is what I did and finally I got the knockout.”
“I don’t know what to say, to be honest,” Topuria said following his first title defense. “To beat a legend like Max Holloway, it’s something that I can’t even believe. He inspired me so much in my career. He’s been a great example for the new generation.
“I’ve always said now that I represent the new generation. I hope I’m going to be a small portion of the example for what he’s been for me, for the new generation. All the credit to Max Holloway. He’s the man.”
The fight didn’t go as planned for Holloway, who not only failed to claim the featherweight title but also lost the “cursed” BMF title. Holloway is undoubtedly one of the toughest featherweight fighters and has only been defeated by Alexander Volkanovski and Topuria. Despite his loss, the fighter is taking it in great strides and recounted how he felt before and during the fight.
“I felt great,” Holloway said. “I was finding my groove. Saw it on the scoreboards after, I was kind of surprised, I thought I had at least one of them. The first round I know he took me down and at the end he had that takedown so, it is what it is, I felt good. Showing off my hands, I was landing, I was being fast, I think I had him surprised in there. Like I said, I was doing good until I wasn’t.”
“The first couple of rounds he landed a couple of left hooks,” Holloway added. “He took me down, he didn’t feel too strong, and you know, game of inches. Game of inches. He landed something that I found myself looking up from the ground.”
Despite his impressive record, the fighter believes it may be time to leave the featherweight division and return to the lightweight division. The fighter is unsure who his next opponent will be, but he doesn’t plan on rushing into anything, as his next fight will be in 2025.
“I had the best ‘45 cut here, but what else is there to do?” Holloway said. “I had a couple of times to reclaim [the featherweight title], new guys coming up, that would be fun, but I think ‘55 looks more fun as fighting just more the caliber, everyone there and the names there, it would look really exciting to put my name in the mix.”
“We’ll sit down with the team, relax, there’s nothing needed to be rushing back right now,” Holloway said. “Probably try to come back summer, big July card in Vegas, do something, see what happens. [The 155-pound division] looks really good right now.”
