MMA
UFC 308 Showdown Revisited: Topuria vs Holloway Final Preview & Technical Breakdown
At UFC 308, Georgia and Spain's star Ilia Topuria faces former featherweight champion Max Holloway in Topuria's first UFC featherweight title defence. Holloway, known for his relentless pace and volume striking, will look to overwhelm Topuria with his experience and cardio. Meanwhile, Topuria brings explosive knockout power and a strong grappling game which is yet to see him lose in his pro MMA career.
Ilia Topuria//Getty Images
The UFC 308 main event will be absolute fireworks, while it lasts. The current UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, is riding an unbeaten career (15-0) into his first title defence, after knocking out Alex Volkanovski in round 2 at UFC 298.
Meanwhile, Max Holloway is also coming into this championship bout off the back of a spectacular knockout. Fighting for the BMF title at UFC 300 against Justin Gaethje, at lightweight, “Blessed” produced one of the coldest knockout moments in UFC history.
After outboxing Gaethje for the entire fight, Holloway pointed to the middle of the octagon with ten seconds to go of the fifth round, signalling for him and Gaethje to trade blow for blow until the final buzzer. With precisely two seconds to go, Holloway unleashed a huge hook which saw Gaethje crash face first onto the floor as he was unconscious, and the referee had no choice but to wave it off.
Topuria vs Holloway: The Keys to Victory
Max Holloway//Getty Images
Topuria, the Spanish Georgian, is one of the hardest-hitting featherweight fighters of all time, but, his power may meet its equal in this one because Holloway, the Hawaiian fighter, arguably has the best chin in UFC history.
It says something about Holloway's chin when a top lightweight in Gaethje, who has made a career off of highlight reel KO's, couldn't even drop Holloway despite landing over 100 significant strikes.
While the champ has good boxing, quick hands and great power, the challenger probably has the edge in striking finesse, so, automatically you would think Holloway would have to keep this fight at long range considering his technique advantage and length. Holloway never backs down from swinging in a phone booth, but that could be to his detriment against the powerhouse Topuria.
Topuria does have the option of getting the fight to the ground with his wrestling and Jiu-jitsu capabilities, however, we all know how legendary Holloway's takedown defence is. Nevertheless, even if Topuria attempts a couple of takedowns early on, perhaps with a few feints, the champion could create a window of opportunity to land one of his trademark haymakers to Holloway's cranium.
One aspect that we do know of is Holloway's elite cardio ability, even in five round wars. This has not yet been tested for Topuria, and with how much power he puts into his strikes, if Holloway's chin can stand up to the champion's power, this could prove to be a huge issue for Topuria later in the fight.
Ilia Topuria became the first-ever UFC champion from Georgia when he defeated Alex Volkanovski in February 2024. Then just a few months later, Georgia had their second-ever UFC champion when Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O'Malley in September 2024.
What do the Stats Say?
Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormie//Zuffa LLC
Holloway has the higher volume, having averaged over 7 significant strikes landed per minute, compared to Topuria averaging a little over 4. The challenger also edges strike accuracy, 48%, as opposed to the champion's 46%.
On the flip side, Topuria is clearly better defensively, averaging 3.35 strikes absorbed per minute, whereas Holloway gets hit by significant strikes 4.72 times per minute. The champion's strike defence is 65% versus the challenger's 59%.
As mentioned earlier, Topuria does have decent wrestling and grappling, and the statistics state that the champion averages just under 2 takedown attempts per 15 minutes, with a takedown accuracy of 56%. Holloway has one of the best takedown defences in the UFC, registering an 84% defence, so it will be some feat if Topuria is able to take the challenger down.
Technical Breakdown
Ilia Topuria has explosive power in both hands, with his lead left-hook and a strong overhand right. Additionally, he has a high guard and he does roll under a lot of punches which allows for the opportunity to land his big counterstrikes.
On the other hand, Max Holloway has more finesse about his work; he has an excellent jab and long-range boxing, to mix in with his kicking game. The Hawaiian fighter has incredible volume, and this works even more in the pocket where he can catch and counter at a crazy-high pace, eventually wearing his opponents down.
One aspect of the fight that will be interesting is Topuria's excellent level changes and takedowns from the clinch. However, Holloway has very good takedown defence. But, if the champion can get the fight to the ground then he could use his strong guillotine or rear naked choke to put Holloway in trouble.
Topuria vs Holloway: Prediction
Although Topuria will be coming into his first title defence full of confidence after keeping his undefeated career going by wiping out the then champion Alex Volkanovski, you do get the feeling that the Georgian fighter now thinks he's invincible, which isn't exactly a healthy thing to think.
Holloway has been here several times before, and although he may have lost all three of his fights with Alex Volkanovski, he proved his worth on the elite stage. And after eating all of Justin Gaethje's heavy shots at lightweight in his last fight and delivering an epic KO, at this stage I would trust Holloway's cardio, chin, and experience to get through a five-round war over the current champion.
I believe Max “Blessed” Holloway gets his hands raised after getting a stoppage victory in the championship rounds of four or five.
Jake Staniland is a sports writer who excels in covering a wide range of sports: football, combat sports and the NFL - All three subjects are his lifelong passions.
Jake is a boyhood Sheffield United fan, which is often a curse that he thanks his family for. His favourite Blades player ever is Billy Sharp