With UFC 307 in the rearview mirror all eyes are now firmly set on the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, where former featherweight champion Max Holloway will attempt to win back the belt he held between 2017 and 2019 as he squares off against Ilia Topuria in the UFC 308 main event later this month.
After initially surrendering his title to Alexander Volkanovski in December of 2019 (and subsequently losing twice more to the Australian) “Blessed” looked to be trapped in featherweight limbo, taking out a succession of rising contenders such as Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez and Arnold Allen but with no real chance of getting a fourth crack at the champion. Topuria’s stunning victory over Volkanovski at UFC 298 changed everything however, and when Holloway pulled off one of the most memorable moments in UFC history by knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, the stars aligned perfectly for the pair to meet when the UFC lands in the middle east on Oct. 26.
Returning To Featherweight
Given that Holloway made the move up to 155 lbs. for his BMF title fight with Gaethje in April, questions have been raised about his ability to make 145 lbs. again. Speaking on his YouTube channel this week, the former champion assured fans that he won’t have any problems in that regard:
“I mean, everybody keeps talking about the weight here coming into this fight” said Holloway. “The whole thing, the whole question about the last fight was the weight, and now the whole question about this fight is the weight because of what we did in the last fight (moving up to lightweight). It is what it is. I got the best person behind me…I got my wife, she’s cheffing it up, and like I said, I got my man Tyler Minton (Holloway’s nutritionist) back on the team, he’s gonna be out there with us on fight week and he’s one of the best guys in the biz. But I’ve never missed weight…I’ve never missed weight in my whole career and I ain’t planning on starting to miss weight for this fight”.
Holloway Promises Fireworks
Although he’s just 32 years old, Holloway has been fighting inside the Octagon since 2012 and after falling short in his last three featherweight title fights, plenty of fans could be forgiven for believing that the Hawaiian was perhaps entering the twilight of his impressive career. Holloway maintained his belief that he could get back to the top of the division, however, and promised the fans that they’re in for a treat at UFC 308.
“It took a whole lot of work to get back here” he said. “I mean, I’ve been saying it over and over and over again how people said that I shouldn’t be here, I should have did something else, I should focus on something else, I’m done, I’m past what I can do in this sport. Then again, we’re here, we’re fighting for a world title against this new generation they’re talking about so I’m excited. I get the excitement, I know why you guys are excited. The card is crazy, our fight (mine and Ilia’s) is one of the most anticipated fights of the year and all I can say is tune in, live on pay-per-view, Oct. 26.
“You guys are gonna be in for a treat, it’s gonna be a fun fight, and I can’t wait man, I can’t wait to show what we’ve been working. Because a lot of people are MMA experts and there’s been a lot of talk so I can’t wait to go out there and show you guys what we’ve been doing”.
In a recent episode of the Couch Warrior Podcast, host Mike welcomed Charalampos Grigoriou, who recently won a contract during season 7 of Dana White's Contender Series after knocking out Cameron Smotherman one minute into the fight. The conversation delved into Grigoriou's martial arts journey, his feelings on representing Cyprus and Greece, and future plans.
