Ilia Topuria cemented his status as the best featherweight on the planet with a third-round TKO victory over Max Holloway at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The Germany-born Spaniard flattened Holloway with a huge left hand before unleashing on the ground as the referee intervened at Etihad Arena. It means he has stopped both Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski – two of the greatest featherweights of all time – in back-to-back fights, improving to 16-0.
Topuria made clear in the immediate aftermath of his victory that he wanted to face Australia’s Volkanovski in a rematch next. He said: “We’re going to do it again, you deserve that. He defended his title I don’t know how many times. If someone deserves it, it’s him, so let’s do it, brother.”
The 27-year-old, who holds dual nationality and also represents Georgia, put an exclamation point on an explosive night of action in the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier in the evening, Shara Magomedov stole the show in the feature bout on the preliminary card, knocking Armen Petrosyan with a remarkable double spinning back fist. Khamzat Chimaev also kept his winning run going, improving to 14-0 with a submission victory over Robert Whittaker. Here are the results in full…
