ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Champion Ilia Topuria overcame early adversity to score a thunderous third-round knockout victory over Hawaiian Max Holloway to retain the UFC featherweight title at UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Topuria scored an early takedown but struggled to manage the distance through the first two frames of an intriguing title fight, but once he figured it out, the writing was on the wall for his opponent.
Holloway, who defeated Jose Aldo to become undisputed featherweight champ in June 2017 but lost the belt in December 2019, used his dizzying array of strikes to keep his Georgian-born opponent at bay, but Topuria’s piston-like right hand was a threat throughout.
That right hand was what started Holloway’s demise, but it was a follow-up short left that sent Holloway crashing to the canvas and the Spain-based Topuria quickly followed him to the ground, raining down blows before referee Marc Goddard jumped in to stop the fight.
“With that right hand, I felt it. I just saw it with him, in his face, he started making some steps back, and you don’t see that often with Max,” Topuria said, paying tribute to his opponent as Holloway suffered the first knockout loss of his UFC tenure.
“I hope I’m going to be a small portion of the example he has been for me, for the new generation.”
In the co-main event, undefeated Chechen Khamzat Chimaev put on another dominant grappling display before submitting former champ Robert Whittaker in the first round of their middleweight bout to set himself up for a crack at the title.
Chimaev wasted no time taking the Australian down, using his limpet-like wrestling to control Whittaker before taking his back and latching on to a face crank that appeared to dislocate his opponet’s jaw, forcing a very quick tap with 1:26 left to go in the first frame.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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