This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC 308, the featherweight title was on the line. Former featherweight champion and current BMF champion Max Holloway (26-8) was looking to regain the featherweight title as he took on the champion Ilia Topuria (16-0).
Earlier this year at UFC 300, Max Holloway became the BMF when he moved up to lightweight and knocked Justin Gaethje out cold in the fifth round on an instant classic. Coming off that performance, I was very intrigued by this matchup with Ilia Topuria. I thought Holloway could give him problems if he established his jab and fought from range.
Throughout the first couple of rounds, we did see Holloway give Topuria some problems on the feet. That said, we also saw Holloway take some huge shots from the champion. Topuria was chewing up Holloway’s lead leg with leg kicks and he was landing massive shots up top. That said, Holloway’s legendary chin had held up through two.
That all changed in the third round. Topuria landed a massive right and you could tell Holloway was rocked. Holloway tried to recover and looked for a moment like he was going to, then Topuria flattened him with a brutal left hook and for the first time in his fighting and UFC career, Max Holloway got finished.
What’s next after UFC 308?
There’s nothing left for Max Holloway at featherweight. Holloway is a legend and he had an incredible run at the top of 145, but at this point, there’s nothing left for him. Holloway said at the post-fight press conference that 155 was looking really good and I couldn’t agree with him more.
Holloway made the walk on Saturday night ranked fifth in the lightweight division after he knocked out Gaethje earlier this year. I think the best move for both Holloway and the UFC is to have Holloway move back up to 155 and this time, I think he should make it a permanent move.
Holloway said he’d like to wait and potentially fight on the International Fight Week card next summer. With that, there are a lot of great options for “Blessed”. I would love to see a potential third fight with Holloway and Dustin Poirier. I know that Poirier is 2-0 in their series, but after Saturday, both Holloway and Poirier expressed interest in that matchup.
Max Holloway – Dan Hooker just seems like a perfect fight as well. That said, if you want a huge money fight, there’s one matchup I have my eyes on. Early in Max Holloway’s career, he suffered a loss against Conor McGregor. Those two have since expressed a ton of interest in running back that fight.
If you want a massive headliner for the International Fight Week card, you can’t get much bigger than Holloway – McGregor 2 for the BMF title. I think all fans hope McGregor fights before July, but at this point, who knows.