Ilia Topuria gave UFC fans a surreal visual when he became the first man to knock out Max Holloway at UFC 308 last Saturday.
After two close rounds, Topuria eventually overwhelmed Holloway, a former featherweight champion with several title defenses. Holloway was the clear-cut contender for Topuria after “El Matador” knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, ending his dominant reign at 145 pounds. Volkanovski had suffered back-to-back KO losses (including a lightweight title challenge against Islam Makhachev), so not getting an immediate rematch was the proper move for Volkanovski to recover.
But now that Volkanovski has gone over eight months without a fight, he is the only opponent for Topuria’s next title defense bid.