UFC 308 is just days away and the featherweight headliner between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway is the most hyped fight the division has seen in a long time!
Swedish MMA journalist and Frontkick contributor Tony Nguyen breaks down the exciting title fight here at Frontkick.online.
Ilia ”El Matador” Topuria has proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
After making his UFC debut in 2020 against Youssef Zalal, he has racked up wins over Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall and Jai Herbert, all by way of knockout.
With a then-record of 12-0 (4-0 in the UFC), his next challenge would be against Bryce Mitchell who was a promising prospect with an undefeated record of 15-0. Topuria ended up winning the fight by arm-triangle choke in the second round, taking Mitchell’s zero.
Topuria’s next fight would be against Josh Emmett, who was ranked #5 in the featherweight division at the time. Topuria ended up winning by a dominant decision with the scorecards of 50-44, 50-42 and 49-45. The biggest win of his career put Topuria straight into title contention!
Eight months later, Topuria would finally face reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title. After losing the first round on all judges’ scorecards, Topuria ended up knocking out Volkanovski in the second to claim the belt. The undefeated 27-year-old is now about to make his first title defense against Max Holloway on Saturday.
Max Holloway. Photo: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
A battle of UFC’s best boxers
Holloway might be Topuria’s toughest opponent yet. His last win was against Justin Gaethje which ended up in a knockout in the last second of a five-round battle. This win was particularly impressive because it was contested at lightweight, and Gaethje was seen by many fans as the next title challenger for Islam Makhachev.
What Holloway and Topuria have in commom is that they are both great boxers. The difference is that Holloway is a volume striker, while Topuria has dynamite in his hands. Holloway is arguably one of the best boxers in the UFC, and has never been knocked out, so this could very well be a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender.
If Holloway wins this fight, it would be a huge achievement as Topuria is undefeated and holds a win over Volkanovski, who many thought was the greatest featherweight of all time.
If Topuria wins the fight, then it would only add to his legacy. If he becomes the first person to knock out Holloway, as he has predicted himself, then that would put him one step closer to becoming the greatest featherweight of all time.
Ilia Topuria. Photo via UFC (Twitter)
Topuria could have a long-lasting title reign
Topuria is still young and in his prime, so he could have a long-lasting title reign. There have been talks about Topuria fighting for a bantamweight championship. He has even talked about moving up to lightweight and facing Islam Makhachev in an attempt to become a two-division champion. However, Holloway now has the opportunity to put an end to Topuria’s reign.
Whatever happens on Saturday, it certainly won’t be a boring fight. It even has the potential to be the ‘Fight of the Year’ as both Topuria and Holloway will be putting everything on the line in the octagon.