Ilia Topuria made history on Saturday night by becoming the first man to knockout Max Holloway in MMA. At UFC 308, Topuria took on the BMF champion, Holloway in a matchup that had fans salivating. What played out shocked a lot of people, however, everyone in Topuria’s camp expected it.
The defending champion caught Holloway in the third round with a series of big shots, rocking Blessed before dropping him with a brutal left hook. A number of ground-and-pound shots saw Marc Goddard step in a put a stop to things, keeping Topuria undefeated at 16-0.
Immediately after the fight, Topuria was questioned who would be next and he appeared to suggest one man’s name, former foe, Alexander Volkanovski.
We take a look at whether it will be Volkanovski, or whether anyone else has a chance.
Topuria vs…
Alexander Volkanovski Rematch
Topuria appeared to entertain the rematch with Volkanovski after his big win at UFC 308, inviting the former champion into the octagon for a brief exchange, all done in respect.
🗣️ “Si quelqu’un le mérite, c’est bien lui.”
Ça sent la revanche entre Topuria et Volkanovski ! 🔥#UFC308pic.twitter.com/0xZfbHnWPa
— La Sueur (@LaSueur_off) October 26, 2024
The two men met back in February when the Spaniard finished Volkanovski and became the first man to defeat him at featherweight in the UFC. Not only did he do this, but he dealt with him in the same way he did Holloway, by knockout.
It would seem ‘fair’ if Volkanovski got the rematch, having put together a run of 13 straight wins at 145lbs before running into Topuria. He’s been a company man throughout his career, taking on big fights on short notice, headlining PPVs constantly and never putting on boring fights. Volkanovski has sat out since his knockout loss and it appears that he’ll be the one to jump straight back in there with Topuria next.
Diego Lopes
You can’t mention company men, or contenders at featherweight without mentioning the Mexican, Diego Lopes. Enjoying a five-fight winning run, including three finishes, Lopes has shown a legitimate improvement fight on fight. Debuting on short notice against Movsar Evloev, Lopes took that opportunity and despite losing, he impressed everyone.
His last two fights have shown a clear step up in competition, none more so than his last outing at UFC Noche at The Sphere. He took on two-time title challenger, Brian Ortega, dominating him throughout. He was unlucky not to get the knockout in the first round and it was only the toughness of Ortega that kept him in the bout.
I genuinely believe if Lopes didn’t throw a left after the right Ortega would’ve been out cold pic.twitter.com/61aCbOZXOZ
— TheSportsAlien 💎 🇮🇪 (@Sports_Alien_OG) September 16, 2024
It is worth noting also that Lopes was the back-up fighter for the UFC 308 main event, proving that the UFC rate him highly.
Islam Makhachev…
If Topuria defeats Volkanovski again, as well as getting through Lopes in the future, he will have pretty much cleared up the division. The only remaining contender would be Evloev, as long as he can get through Aljamain Sterling later this year.
Then what? Topuria has constantly spoken about moving up in weight to lightweight and challenge for the belt. The champion, Islam Makhachev has been out since June when he finished Dustin Poirier, however, it appears that Arman Tsarukyan will be next, however, the Topuria fight is extremely exciting.
Topuria arguably has better stand-up than Makhachev and we’ve seen that his power carries up to lightweight after his finish of Jai Herbert. His coach (and brother) also claims that Topuria’s ground game is better than his stand-up, which is a scary prospect for many. He’s recorded more submission finishes than knockouts, including seven straight finishes to start his career.
I would be VERY, VERY interested in a Topuria vs Makhachev bout. Very. Does it happen? No chance, although Topuria is one fight away from clearing out the 145lbs division IMO #UFC308
— Frazer Krohn (@frazerkrohnMMA) October 26, 2024
