Tag: Max Holloway

‘Scariest 145er Of All Time’ – Fans, Fighters React As Ilia Topuria Becomes First To KO Max Holloway At UFC 308

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 […]

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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.

Continue Reading ‘Scariest 145er Of All Time’ – Fans, Fighters React As Ilia Topuria Becomes First To KO Max Holloway At UFC 308 at MMA News.

Ilia Topuria KOs ‘Blessed’ with Brutal Left Hook in the Third to Retain Fetherweight Title – UFC 308 Highlights

Ilia Topuria KOs 'Blessed' with Brutal Left Hook in the Third to Retain Fetherweight Title - UFC 308 HighlightsIlia Topuria became the first man to knock out BMF titleholder Max Holloway in his mixed martial arts career….

Ilia Topuria KOs 'Blessed' with Brutal Left Hook in the Third to Retain Fetherweight Title - UFC 308 Highlights

Ilia Topuria became the first man to knock out BMF titleholder Max Holloway in his mixed martial arts career.

Returning to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi for UFC 308, ‘El Matador’ delivered another highlight-reel performance in his first defense of the featherweight world title, dispatching ‘Blessed’ in the third round via a combination of strikes punctuated by a vicious left hook that sent Holloway crashing to the canvas.

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A few ground-and-pound strikes later, referee Marc Goddard had seen enough and called for the stoppage just past the 90-minute mark of the round.

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Official Result: Ilia Topuria def. Max Holloway via TKO (left hook to ground and pound) at 1:34 of Round 3.

With the win, Topuria moved to 16-0, keeping both his ‘O’ and his 145-pound title intact.

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Check out Highlights From Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway at UFC 308:

Ilia Topuria Beats Max Holloway by Knockout, Retains Featherweight Title at UFC 308

Ilia Topuria withstood his first test as UFC featherweight champion with a third-round knockout win over Max Holloway to close out UFC 308 from the Etihad…

Ilia Topuria withstood his first test as UFC featherweight champion with a third-round knockout win over Max Holloway to close out UFC 308 from the Etihad…

One-Punch KO? Dustin Poirier Weighs In on Ilia Topuria’s Bold Claim for Max Holloway Fight

Dustin Poirier on Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway UFC 308Ilia Topuria is confident coming into his title defense against Max Holloway headlining UFC 308. But Dustin Poirier explains…

Dustin Poirier on Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway UFC 308

Ilia Topuria is confident coming into his title defense against Max Holloway headlining UFC 308. But Dustin Poirier explains that it might not be as easy as the Georgian-Spanish athlete thinks.

Dustin Poirier on Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

The reigning UFC featherweight champion ‘El Matador’ Ilia Topuria captured the division crown when he stopped top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski by way of knockout. At UFC 308, Topuria feels that he will do the same to the former champion ‘Blessed’ Max Holloway. But, MMA icon Dustin Poirier says that it will not be that simple.

‘The Diamond’ Poirier has won half his professional MMA bouts via knockout but was unable to put away ‘Blessed‘ when they fought years prior. In fact, Holloway has never lost by knockout in his career despite facing a series of dangerous strikers such as Conor McGregor, Poirier, Jose Aldo, and Justin Gaethje, among others.

Dustin Poirier backed by Dana White to make UFC return: 'You can never count him out'

Speaking to Mike Bohn in an interview, Dustin Poirier commented on Topuria trying to knock out Holloway. He said:

“To go out there and one-punch Max is going to be almost impossible, I think. It can happen, for sure. But I don’t think it will. This is a big test. If [Topuria] goes in there and beats Max, or lasts with Max in the volume game, outpoints him, outfights him technically on the feet—that’s going to say so much about Ilia and where he’s going to go. I can’t pick against Max. I could see Topuria winning, but Max’s experience and the championship fights he’s been in… it’s hard to bet against that.” [Ht MMANews]

‘El Matador’ Ilia Topuria will be aiming to do just that in his main event bout against the highly skilled Max Holloway. ‘Blessed’ is known for his volume-striking while Topuria is a knockout technician.

UFC 308 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds and Predictions for Max Holloway vs. Topuria

It’s old guard vs. new guard in the featherweight division at UFC 308 with Ilia Topuria attempting his first title defense against Max Holloway in the main…

It’s old guard vs. new guard in the featherweight division at UFC 308 with Ilia Topuria attempting his first title defense against Max Holloway in the main…