Ilia Topuria may have picked up more believers and fans with his successful title defense against Max Holloway in a wild fight that saw the champion become the first man in MMA history to knock out “Blessed.”
After Holloway refused his offer to throw down in the center of the Octagon right away, Topuria managed to be patient and connected on several key combinations that busted up the former champ’s nose.
“El Matador” also scored a pair of takedowns on Holloway in the first five minutes and landed a number of leg kicks. “Blessed,” however, brought out his usual volume and found his groove late in the round, forming a mousse around one of Topuria’s eyes — in addition to leg kicks of his own.
The Spaniard continued to bring his power punching in the second round, looking to get inside, while Holloway looked to keep his distance and catch the reigning titleholder coming in.
Topuria, however, brought things to an end in the third round with a cracking right hand that rocked Holloway. While the 32-year-old legend got away from the first flurry, he was dropped by a left hook in the second round before some ground-and-pounded finished the fight.
Ilia Topuria Scores Third-Round KO Of Max Holloway To Cap Off UFC 308
Topuria was 8-0 in the UFC and 15-0 in MMA entering tonight’s bout. This was his first fight as UFC featherweight champion after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February.
Holloway, meanwhile, became interim UFC featherweight champion at UFC 206 with a win over Anthony Pettis before defeating José Aldo at UFC 212 to become undisputed champion. He defended the title successfully against Aldo, Brian Ortega, and Frankie Edgar. “Blessed” lost the title at UFC 245 to Alexander Volkanovski, with the Australian being the only one at 145 pounds to defeat Holloway since his five-year unbeaten streak between 2014 and 2019.
The Hawaiian had won his last three fights and five of his last six, including his last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 earlier this year to win the BMF title.
