Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway Preview & Picks
Max Holloway is tipped to regain the UFC featherweight title.
‘Blessed’ is a big underdog, but he has a great chin and throws at a higher rate with better accuracy.
He also boasts superb takedown defence, so if Ilia Topuria cannot stop him early we expect Holloway to overwhelm the champion.
- 24 of Max Holloway’s 26 wins have been by KO/TKO or decision
- Max Holloway has never been knocked out in his professional career
- Ilia Topuria has gone the distance just 2 times in his career
- Max Holloway boasts an 84% takedown defence
- Mac Holloway lands 7.17 strikes per minute with a 48% accuracy (Topuria 4.40, 46%)
Ilia Topuria Form
Ilia Topuria is the defending UFC featherweight champion with a professional record of 15-0 (5 KOs, 8 Subs).
Topuria signed with the UFC in 2020 after going 8-0 while fighting almost exclusively across Europe.
He debuted that year and earned a split decision victory over Youssaf Zalal in his first outing, but it would be a couple of years before he would need the judges’ assistance again.
The 27-year-old Georgian followed up his debut win with a first-round knockout of Damon Jackson to end that year.
Topuria then backed up that victory with another first-round knockout, stopping Ryan Hall, before taking out Jai Herbert with strikes in the second round.
‘El Matador’ then registered his first submission win in the UFC in December 2022, tapping out Bryce Mitchell, only to then see his streak of stoppage wins end when he beat Josh Emmett on points.
He got back to his destructive best in February though, as he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round to become the UFC featherweight champion.
Max Holloway Form
Max Holloway is the current #2 ranked featherweight contender with a career record of 26-7 (12 KOs, 2 Subs).
Holloway first debuted in the UFC back in February 2012, and had to rebound from a submission loss to Dustin Poirier in his first outing.
He won his next three before dropping back-to-back decisions to Dennis Bermudez and Conor McGregor, but he rebounded from those setbacks in impressive fashion.
The 32-year-old Hawaiian went on a nine-fight win streak that earned him a fight for the interim featherweight title.
Holloway won that fight too, knocking out Anthony Pettis in the third round, and then became the undisputed champion when he knocked out the legendary Jose Aldo in the third round.
He proved that was no fluke in the rematch, again stopping the Brazilian in the third, and he then brutalised Brian Ortega on his way to a fourth-round TKO win.
‘Blessed’ moved up to lightweight after that to challenge Dustin Poirier for the belt, only to come up short as he lost by unanimous decision.
Holloway rebounded from that with another successful defence of the featherweight crown, beating Frankie Edgar on points, but in his next outing he lost the belt.
He dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Volkanovski in December 2019, and the following July he fell to a split decision defeat in the rematch.
Points wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez earned him a trilogy fight with Volkanovski, but he again came up short against the Australian, losing via unanimous decision.
Holloway has bounced back from that disappointment though, beating Arnold Allen on points and ‘The Korean Zombie’ by third-round knockout.
He then claimed the unofficial ‘BMF’ title in April of this year when he stopped Justin Gaethje with strikes in the final second of their fight.