Topuria walked into the bout with a 15-0 record whilst Holloway had recently come off the back of his outstanding last second KO of Justin Gaethje to win the “BMF” belt. The bout was touted by many to be an explosive matchup.
The first round saw an even exchange between both fighters as the feeling out process started to take place. It could be argued that Topuria edged the round due to his two successful takedowns of Holloway against the cage, but without much damage being inflicted on his opponent. As the round ended, the crowd were on their feet as Topuria appeared to knock Holloway down with a right hook but it was later deemed a slip.
Max Holloway, who once declared himself “the best boxer in the UFC”, was utterly outclassed by Topuria in the second round as he landed multiple one-two combinations which appeared to rock Holloway. However, the Hawaiian born fighter responded effectively with a straight right hand which was then counteracted with a strong overhand right from Topuria. The fight’s intensity was certainly beginning to increase as both fighters showed their world-class stand-up abilities.
El Matador then began to swarm Holloway, landing his signature liver shots in the process whilst also inflicting damaging blows to the head.
Topuria began to dominate in the 3rd round as he forced Holloway to fight largely off of the backfoot as he was constantly being stalked down by the champ. This strategy proved fatal as Topuria cracked Holloway with a brutal right hand that sent his opponent stumbling to the cage as he tried to stay up. El Matador then began to swarm Holloway, landing his signature liver shots in the process whilst also inflicting damaging blows to the head. This pressure became too much for Holloway to handle as Topuria dropped him with a devastating left hook before being finished with ground strikes to end the fight.
This bout clearly demonstrated Topuria’s right to be considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC as he handed Holloway his first ever knockout loss. The Georgian-Spanish fighter has a very well-balanced skillset with no obvious weaknesses to his game, making him a handful for any opponent.
His next fight is touted to be a rematch against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who had previously defended the title five times before his loss to Topuria. This rematch will excite many as Volkanovski had appeared to be unbeatable for a long time, so it will be interesting to see whether he can overcome the mental hurdle of fighting someone who has already beaten him.
