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Ilia Topuria Confident About Knocking Max Holloway Out In The First: ‘Much Easier Than With Volkanovski’

Ilia Topuria grabbed the UFC featherweight title from Alexander Volkanovski in just his seventh fight for the promotion. He now boasts a perfect 15-0 record and will defend the belt for the first time against Max Holloway at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on October 26, 2024. Many looked past Topuria as an overconfident prospect […]

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Many looked past Topuria as an overconfident prospect ahead of the Volkanovski fight because he updated his record and status as the UFC featherweight kingpin on social media beforehand. However, he knocked out the champion in the second and silenced all the doubters.

“El Matador” is similarly sure about being the first fighter to knock out Holloway, that too in the first. He also claims “Blessed” to be an easier matchup for him than Volkanovski…

Ilia Topuria Predicts ‘Completely Masterpiece’ Performance Against Max Holloway At UFC 308

Topuria discussed his first title defense in an interview on the official MMA Junkie YouTube channel recently. He outright rejected fans who rank Holloway’s striking highly and proclaimed himself to be better in all areas.

“I feel like I’m way better than him everywhere. Simple like that. It’s like, it’s going to be a completely masterpiece, you will see, you will see. I will knock him out in the first round, there’s no doubts about that. It’s going to be even much easier than with Volkanovski because I consider that Volkanovski was like, a way difficult matchup for me and he proved it right? He beat the guy three times.”

“El Matador” also considers Volkanovski to be a much harder matchup for him than Holloway. “The Great” beat Holloway thrice, and a victory over him could be the source of Topuria’s high confidence.

Topuria added that Holloway’s been more vocal than usual with him due to fear. He also advised the challenger to avoid the wild swinging exchanges toward the end of rounds as it would make it easier for the champ to get a KO victory.

The UFC featherweight champion highlighted that he knocked out Volkanovski in seven minutes, unlike Holloway who’s had 75 minutes to do so.

READ MORE: Sean Strickland Shares Unpopular Opinion On Former UFC Middleweight Champ: ‘I Just Don’t Think Izzy’s That Good!’

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On This Day: Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway Met on the Undercard – August 17, 2013

Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway went down 11 years ago to the day. Both were up-and-coming featherweight prospects throwing…

Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway went down 11 years ago to the day. Both were up-and-coming featherweight prospects throwing down on the undercard. This was a hungry Conor McGregor meeting a young Max Holloway.

Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway – August 17, 2013

A former two-division champion in Cage Warriors, and only fight fight thus far in his UFC career, the hungry Conor McGregor had still yet to make an impact in the UFC. He was still considered an up-and-comer at this point, having merely one win inside the UFC.

The 21-year-old Max Holloway had a 3-3 record in the UFC and needed a win. During this fight, ‘Notorious‘ McGregor landed some impressive sharp punches with some precise lead kicks. He tore his ACL and was forced to shoot for takedowns. Ultimately, Ireland’s Mcgregor would get his hand raised after three rounds.

Despite a mix of wins and losses, this was the turning point for Holloway’s career. After taking this loss, he went on a 13-fight win streak, capturing the featherweight title, and had impressive wins over fighters such as Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis, and Charles Oliveira, among others.

He wasn’t quite the megastar he is today, but Conor McGregor was clearly a talented fighter as the matchmakers gave him challenging bouts on his rise through the featherweight division. The young fighter defeated Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Dustin Poirier, and several others with his powerful left cross. Later, McGregor would make history by capturing two world titles in the UFC.

Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway August 17 2013

UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen

UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen in 2013 was a pretty great event. Perpetual title contender Chael Sonnen was able to submit former Champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Heavyweight Travis Browne used a front kick to knock out Alistair Overeem. And Matt Brown would only need 30 seconds to knock out Mike Pyle.

Michael Chandler reveals dream fights: Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje if Conor McGregor clash is off

Former lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler is still hanging around for a grudge fight with former two-weight champion, Conor…

Former lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler is still hanging around for a grudge fight with former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor, however, the UFC veteran is still weighing up “dream” matchups against either Max Holloway, or former-foe, Justin Gaethje still.

Chandler, who currently holds the number six ranked lightweight challenger, has been sidelined for the last two years from the Octagon, most recently suffering a third round rear-naked choke submission loss to former interim champion, Dustin Poirier in the pair’s back-and-forth grudge fight.

And chasing a fight with former two-division titleholder, McGregor after featuring on The Ultimate Fighter with the Dubliner last year, Michael Chandler was finally booked to fight the former at UFC 303 at the end of June at the welterweight limit.

Daniel Cormier claims Michael Chandler has be respected for his UFC run

However, pulled from the card just weeks ahead of the matchup, Chandler was left without an opponent after McGregor fractured a toe on his left foot, however, is still hoping to fight the Crumlin fighter next – amid links to an end-of-year showdown at UFC 310.

Michael Chandler weighs up fights beyond Conor McGregor

Michael Chandler addresses failed Conor McGregor fight at UFC 303 he was never the safe bet

And weighing up his options in the form of rumored fights with current BMF titleholder, Holloway as well as prior opponent, Gaethje if a fight with McGregor fails to materialize, Chandler claimed a matchup with the Hawiian would be a fan-favorite battle,

“Max (Holloway) is one of the top ones on that list when it comes to who I would love to share the octagon with,” Michael Chandler told Lucky Block during a recent interview. “Justin Gaethje, fight of the year 2021, that’s another. Me and Max would absolutely make some bloody, violent magic inside of an octagon. It could have possibly happened at the Sphere, there were a bunch of different options being thrown out there, but rightfully Max wanted to go get that featherweight title. Me and Max make a lot of sense, that’s the one that excites me the most. And I think that’s something that will get the juices flowing of the fans as well.”

Max Holloway Touted To Dispatch Ilia Topuria At UFC 308: ‘That’s Gonna Be His Downfall…’

Josh Thomson and “Big” John McCarthy recently predicted that Max Holloway could defeat Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, provided “Blessed” keeps the fight focused solely on striking. Topuria is poised to defend his featherweight title for the first time against Holloway in the main event of a highly anticipated pay-per-view showdown scheduled for October 26 […]

Continue Reading Max Holloway Touted To Dispatch Ilia Topuria At UFC 308: ‘That’s Gonna Be His Downfall…’ at MMA News.

Josh Thomson and “Big” John McCarthy recently predicted that Max Holloway could defeat Ilia Topuria at UFC 308, provided “Blessed” keeps the fight focused solely on striking.

Topuria is poised to defend his featherweight title for the first time against Holloway in the main event of a highly anticipated pay-per-view showdown scheduled for October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

“El Matador” captured the 145-pound championship this past February, becoming the first UFC champion from Spain by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. Undefeated in the Octagon with a 7-0 record, he boasts five finishes, including impressive victories over Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett.

Meanwhile, Holloway is set for his third attempt to reclaim the featherweight title, which he lost to Volkanovski in December 2019, followed by two unsuccessful rematches. “Blessed” has since bounced back with three consecutive impressive victories, the latest being a dramatic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje in a lightweight bout, earning him the BMF title at the landmark UFC 300 in April.

Thomson and McCarthy contend that despite Topuria’s formidable prowess, he will encounter significant difficulty in connecting his strikes against Holloway…

Thomson Sees Holloway As ‘Stylistically’ Challenging Opponent For Topuria

During a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast, Thomson previewed the highly anticipated matchup between Topuria and Holloway. The former UFC lightweight fighter lauded “El Matador” for his exceptional striking abilities but pointed out that he will face significant challenges in chasing down the BMF titleholder and finding the right angles to land his shots.

“Max on the feet, what we saw with him against Justin Gaethje, he can handle the power, he can handle the movement, he can handle the aggressiveness,” Thomson said. “Topuria is going to stalk after him, he’s just going, and Max Holloway is going to be on his bike, sticking and moving, using that long-range jab right in his face… My point is that when Topuria is gonna start stalking after him, he’s gonna start taking those jabs in the opening rounds.”

“The Punk” added that although Topuria might be relentlessly pursuing the Hawaiian, he is likely to absorb some significant punishment in the process, which could prove decisive.

“He’s going to be reaching and lunging to get in on Max Holloway, and that’s going to be his downfall. He’s got fight IQ and knows how to use his movement, how to put his combinations together, and how to threaten the body as well as the head. He throws everything at you, including the kitchen sink, and it lands. He’s accurate with his strikes, with no wasted movements. He knows what he’s doing. Topuria, right now, I think is a fantastic fighter; I just think stylistically this is a bad matchup for him.”

Read More: Renato Moicano & Gilbert Burns Break Down Ilia Topuria’s Next Title Defense: ‘What’s He Gonna Do To Max Holloway? Let’s Be Honest!’

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Islam Makhachev Welcomes Title Fight with Max Holloway: ‘Let’s go, let’s do it.’

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is open to fighting Max Holloway next time out, should the Hawaiian defeat Ilia…

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is open to fighting Max Holloway next time out, should the Hawaiian defeat Ilia Topuria to become the featherweight champion at UFC 308.

Holloway is looking to reclaim his featherweight belt, and if he wins, Islam Makhachev wants the Hawaiian to move up to lightweight. Makhachev is looking for new contenders to fight at lightweight and he believes a bout against Holloway makes a lot of sense and would be a fun fight for the fans.

“Why not?” he said of a Holloway fight at a recent Q&A session (via MMAMania). “I already beat Arman. If UFC puts him next, that’s no problem. But, I’m not excited much [by Tsarukyan]. I need new name, new challenger. I already beat Arman. If Max wants, let’s do it. I don’t need his BMF belt, but Max is a good name. It’s going to be a crazy fight for the fans. If he beats Topuria — this is a hard match-up for him. If he beats him and UFC wants this match? Let’s go.”

Although many believe Arman Tsarukyan should be the next title contender at lightweight, Islam Makhachev is hopeful Max Holloway will win so he can have the super fight next time out.

Max Holloway called for Islam Makhachev bout before UFC 300

At UFC 300, Max Holloway moved up to lightweight to face Justin Gaethje for the BMF belt. In the scrap, Holloway had a ton of success and scored a fifth-round knockout over Gaethje.

Although Holloway is now moving back down to featherweight, he did show interest in a return to lightweight to face Makhachev.

“I saw Islam talk about, ‘Oh, this fight makes no sense,’ and blah, blah, blah,” Max said leading up to UFC 300. “Brother, you should’ve fought Justin in February. If I can go out there and get my hand raised as we plan on doing, there’s a lot of fights that can be there for us. And one of them being the 155 champ, which I think would be a fun one.”

Holloway, of course, was scheduled to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title shot on short notice at UFC 223 but he was not medically cleared.