Topuria retains featherweight title at UFC 308; Chimaev defeats Whittaker

Champion Ilia Topuria overcame early adversity to score a thunderous third-round knockout victory over Hawaii’s Max Holloway to retain the UFC featherweight title at UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. 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. 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 on Saturday night. 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 then 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 contest. 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 opponent’s jaw, forcing a very quick tap with 1:26 left to go in the first frame. Chimaev is now tipped to be the number one contender to fight South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis for the UFC middleweight world title in early 2025, in what would be a blockbuster matchup.