Ilia Topuria And Max Holloway Trade Verbals During Final Presser

Ilia Topuria And Max Holloway held their final pre-fight presser ahead of their UFC 308 fight on Saturday. 

Topuria arrives in the fight as a UFC Featherweight Champion, the belt he acquired after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. He took his record to 7-0, racking up five knockouts in the process. He ended Volkanovski’s reign as a champion, which had lasted for four years. He also gave Volkanovski his first-ever defeat at this weight class, making it a historic feat. There were talks over a rematch, with suggestions that it could have happened in either Spain or Australia. However, the fight never happened, but Volkanovski has said that he has been promised the winner. 

Topuria vs. Holloway

Holloway is equally in impressive form. He secured the biggest win of his career when he knocked out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 to become the BMF Champion. Blessed stopped Gaethje in memorable circumstances, landing a huge right hand in the final round to end the fight with just a second left to go. Both fighters have spoken about their desire to move up to lightweight in order to take on Islam Makhachev, the current UFC Lightweight Champion.

That will be a tough task since Makhachev is seen as one of the best P4P fighters in the world. He is coming off an impressive victory when he submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in the final round to defend his title. Both fighters are ready to go to war, as Topuria previously said that he would point to the center of the Octagon within the first 10 seconds and trade with Holloway, so he could knock him out. The two fighters had plenty to say to each other. 

Presser

Co-Main

In chief support, Khamzat Chimaev faces Robert Whittaker. The pair were set to face off in UFC Saudi. However, Chimaev had to withdraw after suffering from an illness. His last bout was a win against Kamaru Usman which was just over a year ago. He is undefeated at middleweight, meaning Whittaker faces a tough task. But Whittaker is no pushover. Robert is a former UFC Middleweight Champion, showing he has a big pedigree. He enters the fight in impressive form, having stopped Ikram Aliskerov in the first round at UFC Saudi. The winner will take a step closer to getting a title shot against the current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis.

Full Card

Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway (featherweight title)

Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev (middleweight)

Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige (featherweight)

Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandar Rakic (light-heavyweight)

Shara Magomedov vs Armen Petrosyan (middleweight)

Prelim Card

Geoff Neal vs Rafael dos Anjos (welterweight)

Mateusz Rebecki vs Myktybek Orolbai (lightweight)

Said Nurmagomedov vs Daniel Santos (bantamweight)

Abus Magomedov vs Bruno Ferreira (middleweight)

Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Justin Tafa (heavyweight)

Faris Basharat vs Victor Hugo (bantamweight)

Ismail Naurdiev vs Bruno Silva (middleweight)

Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Nursulton Ruziboev (welterweight)

Ibo Aslan vs Rafael Cerqueira (light-heavyweight)

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