Tag: UFC 308

Ilia Topuria’s Custom Shorts For UFC 308 Get Rave Reviews

Ilia Topuria is looking to make a statement when he does battle with Max Holloway at UFC 308 next weekend. But he already appears set to be making one with what he will be wearing to the cage! Topuria’s custom-made fight shorts for the event have been revealed in a post on social media by […]

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Ilia Topuria is looking to make a statement when he does battle with Max Holloway at UFC 308 next weekend. But he already appears set to be making one with what he will be wearing to the cage!

Topuria’s custom-made fight shorts for the event have been revealed in a post on social media by the @ClubDeLasMMA account.

The shorts are red with the designs in the championship gold that include a bull — a reference to Topuria’s nationality and “El Matador” nickname — the Venum snake, a sun and more.

The shorts’ appearance on social media brought about significant praise for its look.

This fight will mark Topuria’s first attempt at defending the UFC featherweight championship. He won the title earlier this year at UFC 298, defeating Alexander Volkanovski.

Holloway, meanwhile, became interim featherweight champion with a win over Anthony Pettis at UFC 206 before unifying the title with a win over then-champion José Aldo at UFC 212. “Blessed” dropped the title to Volkanovski at UFC 245.

This fight marks Holloway’s first since his legendary encounter with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, where he scored a last-second knockout to win the BMF title.

Continue Reading Ilia Topuria’s Custom Shorts For UFC 308 Get Rave Reviews at MMA News.

Former UFC Champion Recalls How Max Holloway Beat Him At His Own Game: ‘That’s What That Feels Like!’

With how long fight fans have been watching Max Holloway compete at the highest level, it can be easy to forget that he’s still only 32-years old. “Blessed” is looking to reclaim the featherweight title later this month at UFC 308 when he faces Ilia Topuria in Abu Dhabi. The first time that he got […]

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Recalls How Max Holloway Beat Him At His Own Game: ‘That’s What That Feels Like!’ at MMA News.

With how long fight fans have been watching Max Holloway compete at the highest level, it can be easy to forget that he’s still only 32-years old. “Blessed” is looking to reclaim the featherweight title later this month at UFC 308 when he faces Ilia Topuria in Abu Dhabi.

The first time that he got his hands on UFC gold was all the way back in 2016 at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada where he faced Anthony Pettis for the interim title. A former lightweight champion, Pettis had recently moved down to 145-pounds where he submitted Charles Oliveira in his previous fight.

Holloway earned the tenth win of his current streak in this fight, stopping Pettis in the third round after hurting him to the body to close out another great performance from “Blessed”. He would then go on to unify the belts against José Aldo in Brazil the following year.

In a recent appearance on the MightyCast with Demetrious Johnson, Pettis reflected on his experience fighting Holloway eight years ago. At his peak, “Showtime” was known for his devastating striking, including a body kick finish over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone from back in 2013.

He said that after Holloway hit him with a body kick of his own, he finally understood what he had been putting opponents through all those years.

“He’s a beast bro like fighting that dude, like you have to be on your A-game. First time I ever got finished in a fight was Max Holloway. TKO. He hit me with a body kick, first time I was like, ‘That’s what that feels like…’ He hit me and I was like, ‘Oh s***!,’ and then he teed off on me and he got the title and like big up to him man, great fighter.”

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Recalls How Max Holloway Beat Him At His Own Game: ‘That’s What That Feels Like!’ at MMA News.

Alexander Volkanovski Says He Intends To Have A Stare Down With UFC 308 Winner Inside The Octagon

The main event of UFC 308 is shaping up to be one of the biggest fights of the year with fight fans counting down the days until October 26. Undefeated featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will be defending his belt for the first time against the former titleholder, Max Holloway. This fight has all the makings […]

Continue Reading Alexander Volkanovski Says He Intends To Have A Stare Down With UFC 308 Winner Inside The Octagon at MMA News.

The main event of UFC 308 is shaping up to be one of the biggest fights of the year with fight fans counting down the days until October 26. Undefeated featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will be defending his belt for the first time against the former titleholder, Max Holloway.

This fight has all the makings of a must watch when you look back at the recent performances that we have seen from both men. One set of eyes that are sure to be paying close attention belong to the former 145-pound king, Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski could have campaigned for an immediate rematch with Topuria after losing the title to “El Matador” in February but instead, he chose to take some time to recover. After what Holloway did at UFC 300, it was clear that he’d be next for Topuria if he wanted to move back down to featherweight which is what materialized.

In the mean time, Volkanovski has had no problem with sitting out and watching everything play out in front of him before he gets his deserved rematch to try and reclaim the title. A potential fight with Diego Lopes has been spoken about but the Aussie’s main focus is on taking back the belt.

“The Great” is planning to be in attendance at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi where he hopes to build towards a fight in Sydney, Australia at UFC 312 next February. He recently told Submission Radio that he intends to get inside the Octagon and face off with the winner of the main event before UFC 308 comes to an end.

“Of course, that’s the best way to build up your next fight, especially when you’re pretty much guaranteed. There’s only very little things that could get in the way. I doubt that that happens so get me in there, let’s amp it up and call the date here in February as well.” 

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Ilia Topuria Eyes Record Held By Jorge Masvidal At UFC 308

UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria wants to emphatically establish superiority over Max Holloway next weekend in Abu Dhabi. The importance of following up a title win with a successful defense is often a major part of the lead-up to a new champ’s first attempt at batting away a challenger. For some, that pressure might show. […]

Continue Reading Ilia Topuria Eyes Record Held By Jorge Masvidal At UFC 308 at MMA News.

UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria wants to emphatically establish superiority over Max Holloway next weekend in Abu Dhabi.

The importance of following up a title win with a successful defense is often a major part of the lead-up to a new champ’s first attempt at batting away a challenger.

For some, that pressure might show. In that regard, Topuria is not ‘some’.

“El Matador” has been his usual confident self ahead of his upcoming pay-per-view main event opposite Max Holloway at UFC 308 on Oct. 26. That’s perhaps not a surprise given how he backed up his pre-fight talk with a destructive knockout of Alexander Volkanovski.

But based on the predictions he made during an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Topuria could have a tougher time living up to his remarks come fight night at Etihad Arena.

The Georgian-Spaniard has long expressed his belief that “Blessed” won’t escape Abu Dhabi without the first knockout loss of his career being added to his record.

Now, Topuria is even shooting for Jorge Masvidal’s fastest-KO record, which came when he slept Ben Askren with a knee just five seconds into their showdown at UFC 239 in 2019.

“There is no chance for Max. Forget about it. The only thing I’m praying for every day is I want him to show up, because I’m going to do the rest,” Topuria said. “We already know who is the world champion. We’re going to find out that I am the BMF also.

“I will be there in the middle of the Octagon in the first 10 seconds. … I want to have the fastest knockout in UFC history also, with my hands,” Topuria continued. “Jorge has it with the knee, I want to do it with the hands. … If he stays in the middle in the first 10 seconds of the fight, we’re going to see the fastest knockout in UFC history.”

Though not set to be officially on the line, talk of Holloway’s symbolic BMF title has been prominent in the build-up to next weekend’s PPV headliner.

Should he deliver on his promise to offer a stand-and-bang scenario to “Blessed” à la UFC 300 and emerge from such an exchange with his hand raised, perhaps the masses will get behind “El Matador” and his replica BMF belt.

Continue Reading Ilia Topuria Eyes Record Held By Jorge Masvidal At UFC 308 at MMA News.

Topuria Reaffirms Plans To ‘Point The Octagon’ In First 10 Seconds Against Holloway At UFC 308

Ilia Topuria recently doubled down on his intention to challenge Max Holloway in a striking battle from the opening bell of their highly anticipated clash at UFC 308. “El Matador” is poised to defend his UFC featherweight title for the first time against Holloway on October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United […]

Continue Reading Topuria Reaffirms Plans To ‘Point The Octagon’ In First 10 Seconds Against Holloway At UFC 308 at MMA News.

Ilia Topuria recently doubled down on his intention to challenge Max Holloway in a striking battle from the opening bell of their highly anticipated clash at UFC 308. “El Matador” is poised to defend his UFC featherweight title for the first time against Holloway on October 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Last week, Topuria and Holloway engaged in a fiery interview with ESPN, during which the reigning 145-pound champion donned a replica of the BMF title on his shoulder. He boldly dared “Blessed” to bring the same ferocity he displayed in landing the buzzer-beater knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in the first 10 seconds of their upcoming showdown.

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, “El Matador” underscored his desire to entice the reigning BMF titleholder to a fierce exchange of punches right in the center of the Octagon within the first 10 seconds of their bout at UFC 308. The undefeated Spaniard confidently asserted that he would deliver the most electrifying initial moments of any fight in UFC history.

“He calls himself the BMF, but we already know who’s the world champion. In the first 10 seconds of the fight, we’re going to find out who’s the real BMF because I already challenged him. In the first 10 seconds, I’m gonna point to the ground, and we’ll see what he’s going to do.

I will be in the middle of the Octagon, so let’s bang, bro. If you’re ready, I was born ready… First 10 seconds, I’m gonna point to the middle of the Octagon, and I will stay there. I wanna give the best and most exciting 10 seconds in UFC history to the fans.”

Topuria went on to voice some doubt about whether “Blessed” would accept his challenge to trade blows right off the bat but remained unwavering in his belief in his knockout power. He confidently stated that if Holloway chooses to stand and bang with him, it’s only a matter of time before he puts him to sleep.

“If he stays in the middle, I’m gonna knock him out, I’m gonna take his head off. I have prepared myself for that too… I don’t know, we’ll see. He’s calling himself the BMF, that’s one of the things we’ll find out—if he’s the BMF or if he’s the p*ssy like everyone who is predicting that I’m going to lose to Max Holloway.”

You can watch his comments here:

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Robert Whittaker Says Khamzat Chimaev Isn’t His Toughest Opponent But Is The ‘Most Pressing’

When it comes to fighters that have been put through the ringer at the very highest level, it’s hard to find someone that is more experienced than Robert Whittaker. The former middleweight champion has been facing the very best at 185-pounds for the best part of seven years at this stage in his career. With […]

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When it comes to fighters that have been put through the ringer at the very highest level, it’s hard to find someone that is more experienced than Robert Whittaker. The former middleweight champion has been facing the very best at 185-pounds for the best part of seven years at this stage in his career.

With 22 Octagon appearances under his belt, there’s not much that you can throw at “The Reaper” which he won’t have encountered in the past. That being said, his next challenge is somewhat of an enigma.

The undefeated Khamzat Chimaev has gone from being talked about as a guaranteed future UFC champion to someone that might struggle against the top names in his division. His progress has been significantly halted by two major concerns, his reoccurring health issues and an inability to fight in the United States.

Despite the fact that he has beaten the likes of Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, one of those wins came when he was fighting at welterweight and his contest with Usman was a close fight that saw the former 170-pound champion step in at middleweight on short notice.

We will truly find out how good Chimaev is when he faces Whittaker who has already proven his level against the majority of the top contenders to come through the division in the last seven years.

In an interview with TalkSPORT MMA ahead of their co-main event clash at UFC 308, Whittaker was asked whether Chimaev is his toughest fight to date after all of the top opposition that he has squared off with.

“No, like I’ve fought the best of the best. I think it’s the most pressing test because it’s unwritten and I think there’s a lot of gravity to this fight because it’s the unknown like as of right now but like, I’ve won a lot of hard fights and I’ve lost a lot of hard fights, I’ve been tested.”

Though Whittaker doesn’t believe that Chimaev is his most difficult opponent, he does think that this fight will require him to be at his best because he doesn’t fully know what to expect from his opponent.

“Right now, it’s obviously Chimaev right because it’s unknown, it’s ground that hasn’t been trodden yet. I respect the task at hand and I’m just looking forward to it.”  

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