Ilia Topuria Knocked Out Max Holloway To Retain The UFC Featherweight Title At UFC 308

Ilia Topuria became the first man to knock out Max Holloway, retaining the UFC Featherweight title in the third round of UFC 308 from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Coming into UFC 308, Max Holloway appeared destined to claim his first Featherweight championship since 2019. The belt was finally off Alexander Volkanovski, who had beaten Holloway to end his title reign and then beaten him in two following championship bouts.

Holloway has been resilient in recent years despite his setbacks and won every fight against an opponent not named Volkanovski, including a fifth-round knockout of Justin Gaethje that set the MMA landscape ablaze.

Saturday night, Holloway appeared confident coming into the fight that his striking could do the talking, taking control early and appearing on his way to another strong outing. But Topuria was relentless as the fight grew on, hurting the 32-year-old former champ in the third round with a right hand, a left hook, and then finishing him on the ground.

After the fight, Holloway gave no impression that he’s slowing down despite his struggles to regain the title in a division he once dominated. Despite Diego Lopes serving as the backup for the championship bout, it doesn’t appear he’s next in line for a title fight. At the post-event press conference, UFC president Dana White appeared interested in Topuria-Volkanovski II as the next Featherweight championship bout.