Long live the king! Ilia Topuria crushed Max Holloway in the main event this Saturday (26) at UFC 308 , in Abu Dhabi. It was the first time that 'El Matador' put his featherweight belt (up to 65,7kg) on the line, which he won in February of this year. After two well-balanced rounds, the champion found the blow he wanted and landed a devastating sequence of punches that guaranteed him the knockout victory in the third round.
See too
Holloway, who was once the champion of the division, had his plans to lift the belt again frustrated. The UFC BMF title holder now has a record of 26 wins and eight losses.
Ilia Topuria remains undefeated in the UFC: he now has 16 wins. The unprecedented knockout against Holloway was the icing on the cake and consolidated the Georgian-Spanish fighter's title.
Hair-raising fight with unprecedented knockout
Topuria entered confidently and provoked Holloway, calling his opponent to the center of the octagon. The Hawaiian responded by signaling that it was not time yet. After a brief exchange between the two, the Georgian-Spanish fighter managed to take him down on the second floor, but Max got up and the fight returned to the exchange. El Matador showed more explosiveness, while Holloway tried to land counterattacks. After an intense exchange of jabs and crosses, Holloway slipped and Topuria tried to finish on the ground, but the first round came to an end.
The exchange continued in the second round, with Topuria more aggressive and imposing his game. The Hawaiian, known for his high number of significant strikes, saw his attacks go unnoticed by the Georgian-Spanish fighter's dodges.
Holloway knew he needed to be more aggressive and changed his stance in the third round. However, El Matador managed to take advantage of the Hawaiian's low guard and landed a deadly left-handed cross. His opponent felt it and that was when Topuria unleashed a barrage of punches. An unprecedented knockout for Holloway and long live the UFC featherweight champion!
Ilia Topuria defeated Max Holloway by knockout and retains the UFC featherweight title / UFC Reproduction
Check out all the results from UFC 308
Date : October 26, 2024
Time : Starting at 11 PM (Brasilia time).
Location : Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
How to watch : SUPER FIGHTS LIVE in real time and UFC Fight Pass (entire card) online.
MAIN CARD
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Ilia Topuria defeated Max Holloway by knockout at 1:34 of round 3.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Khamzat Chimaev defeated Robert Whittaker by submission at 3:34 in round 1.
Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): Magomed Ankalaev defeated Aleksandar Rakic by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Lerone Murphy defeated Dan Ige by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Shara Magomedov defeated Armen Petrosyan by knockout at 4:50 in round 2.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Light heavyweight (up to 93kg): Ibo Aslan defeated Raffael Cerqueira by technical knockout at 0:51 of round 1.
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Geoff Neal defeated Rafael dos Anjos by technical knockout (injury) at 1:30 of round 1.
Catchweight (up to 72,5 kg): Mateusz Rebecki defeated Myktybek Orolbai by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Abus Magomedov defeated Brunno Hulk by submission (katagatame) at 3:14 of round 3.
Heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg): Kennedy Nzechukwu defeated Chris Barnett by technical knockout (punches) at 4:27 of round 1.
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Farid Basharat defeated Victor Hugo by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Ismail Naurdiev defeated Bruno Blindado by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Rinat Fakhretdinov defeated Carlos Leal by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Johnny Walker opens up about his heavyweight debut at UFC 332.
You need to log in to comment.