Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria snatches the proverbial torch with a devestating knockout to former champion Max Holloway at UFC 308 Abu Dhabi, October 26, 2024.
The MMA Gods strike once again with a soul punishing reality as the undroppable, never to be KO’d has been put down by the leading hand of the new generation, Ilia Topuria. Announced on August 3rd, The President of the UFC would reveal the headline for UFC 308: the featherweight title bout between Ilia Topuria(C) against ranked number two, Max Holloway. Both fighters coming off of impressive knockout wins as Topuria would knock out the well respected former champion, Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298. ‘Blessed’ Holloway would get a sensational knock out over former ‘BMF’ champion Justin Gaethje in the co-main event of UFC 300.
2024 has undoubtedly been the year of ‘El Matador’ with two devastating knockouts to arguably two of the greatest featherweights in the history of the sport. Coming into the game with a dangerous arsenal of high skilled grappling in both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Greco-Roman wrestling in tandem with elite boxing complimented by destructive power. With an undefeated record, Ilia Topuria has turned a lot of heads in the MMA community. At only 27 years of age, the confident champion would call his shots against the highly respected Max Holloway.
A veteran of the fight game, amassing a total of 34 fights, Max Holloway has seen his fair share of UFC gold, holding both interim and undisputed gold in the 145 pound weight division. With a skill set of precise boxing with overwhelming volume and pressure that rivals the ocean, Max Holloway would swarm his opponents with unrelenting strikes for five rounds, as he currently holds the record for the most significant strikes landed in UFC history (3457). Ilia Topuria had a tall order ahead of him in ‘Blessed’ Holloway.
Fans bickered back and forth about who would walk out as the best fighter in the featherweight division. Both fighters having immeasurable talent that surpassed the rest of their peers, this fight was one that would be too close to call. Topuria would come out as the betting favorite, taking on the role as the villain in the story, putting away fan favorites in horrific fashion. Ilia Topuria would be vocal with his antics towards the Hawaiian native.
“The way I applicate the techniques and the skills to my opponent–the way I move my head, the way I dominate the octagon, that’s the difference. What evolution do you see in Max Holloway in every fight? Maybe only in striking but you don’t see him getting better in wrestling or on the ground; you don’t see him trying new things. Only in the striking. This is what I’m talking about, I try to evolve the game all the time. Not only in the striking, but in the wrestling, with the ground game, with everything.” The German would say in a presser.
As fight day arrived, combat sports fans around the world would gather around with family and friends in their living rooms as the main event would finally come. The energy was heavy, almost as if you could physically grab it, fans in attendance knew that they would be witnessing something extraordinary. On paper, both of these martial artists are evenly matched, with Ilia taking the slight advantage in the grappling department with the higher pedigree in both Greco-Roman wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Round one began as both men circled the octagon cage. Topuria would go on to take the center of the 8 sides of steel as he invited Max Holloway in for a violent back and forth during the first 10 seconds of the fight. This gesture was symbolic as Max Holloway is the one who popularized the idea of trading shots in the middle of the cage with fights with 10 seconds left on the clock, against the likes of Ricardo Lamas and Justin Gaethje. Using his veteran experience, Holloway would mock ‘El Matador’ as he refused to engage. Instead, he would take on the role of the matador, waving an imaginary cloth, attempting to prod the self proclaimed matador.
Both men would have their moments as Topuria utliized feints, keeping a boxing heavy stance when engaging with Max Holloway. Holloway would evade Ilia’s strikes, using his octagon awareness as Ilia kept the forward pressure. Ilia Topuria would find success in his feints as he would mix in wrestling, dumping the former champion ‘Blessed’ Holloway on to the floor, getting the first round from the judges.
As the second horn sounded, Max Holloway would pick up the pace, landing effective blows when trading shots, demonstrating his veteran experience in the exchanges. Still fresh, Topuria would strategically pick his shots against the pressure fighter as Holloway would get caught on occasion. The second round was a spectacle as both fighters showcased elite boxing throughout the 5 minutes while Topuria landed some shots, Holloway would get the better of him in more of the exchanges; finding more success in the later minutes of the round with effective counters.
The third round would mark the beginning of the end as the final horn of the fight would sound. Ilia Topuria would suffer some swelling under his left eye from the exchanges with Max Holloway, despite the noticeable damage, it would not be nearly enough to stop the leader of the new generation as he would manage to batter ‘Blessed’ Holloway which violently rocked the challenger. As each strike landed, the metallic pieces of Max’s chin would chip off as the unfathomable toughness of Max Holloway would finally crumble.
Like a corpse, Holloway would rag doll to the floor, attempting to block the hammer strikes thrown from above; it was already too late as Marc Goddard would step in to stop the assault. As predicted, Ilia Topuria would go on to call his shot as the first person ever in UFC history to knockout Max Holloway. With both of the best featherweights coming to a similar fate at the hands of Spain’s own Ilia Topuria, the featherweight division seems to have a difficult task ahead of them.
With the new generation of fighters blossoming, the likes of Diego Lopes, Movsar Evloev, Lerone Murphy pale in comparison to the dominant champ as we now beckon the question of who is going to take Topuria’s 0? Skies the limit as the new wave of talent makes up for a variety of fun fights against the reigning champ. Styles make fights, the question is, who’s style can pose the most problems for the champ and will it work? Only time will tell.
