MMA

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway keys to victory

Amy Kaplan

UFC

The featherweight title is on the line at UFC 308.

The UFC is hosting a PPV event from Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 26. A featherweight title fight tops the card as reigning featherweight king Ilia Topuria takes on former champion Max Holloway.

Topuria is undefeated at 15-0 in his professional MMA career and won his title when he knocked out longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. The performance shot him into the spotlight and earned him the honor of being the first champion from Georgia and Spain.

On the other side of the Octagon from Topuria is Holloway, who held the featherweight title from December 2016 through December 2019. He lost his title to Volkanovski and then lost in two subsequent rematches. Now, following his iconic Fight of the Year affair with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, he gets another shot to become champion again.

Here's what both men need to do to get their hands raised on Saturday night.

Ilia Topuria's keys to victory

Trust his instincts

Ilia Topuria has got his career figured out fairly well. He's doing something right if he's undefeated at this high level. He should rely on the knowledge and confidence that's afforded him his path to victory in the UFC. This is not the time to try anything new, he needs to trust his gut and go with what's won every single fight in the past.

Aggression

Considering he's in a fistfight, this might seem like a no-brainer, but it's not always what we see in MMA fights. Topuria needs to come out swinging and not let Holloway have a moment to compose himself. Topuria should aim to put Holloway away early as we all know that Holloway can last the full five rounds with ease. So far Topuria hasn't had to go into the later rounds. In fact, he's only ever been to a decision once and that was a three-rounder with Youssef Zalal in Topuria's UFC debut. It seems Topuria is on the same page with finishing the fight quickly as he told KOImenero, “I won’t have to show any patience, because the fight will end much sooner than many people think. You will see me super aggressive."

Head movement

We all know this fight is going to come down to who the better boxer is. Holloway has already dubbed himself the best boxer in the UFC and Topuria will need to prove him wrong. One way Topuria can dispel those rumors is to avoid Holloway's strikes. The head movement will be key to getting Holloway flustered and making him miss. Topuria cannot stand and brawl like Gaethje did, he allowed himself to get hit too many times and eventually couldn't defend. Topuria can't be the tough guy. He needs to fight smart. Protecting his face is one very important element to that.

Max Holloway's keys to victory

Drag him to deep waters

One of the biggest assets Holloway has in this fight is experience. Holloway has been in 10 fights that went longer than three rounds, and Topuria has been in none. Of those 10 fights, nine went into the fifth round. We just saw what Holloway did to Gaethje in the fifth round and literally every second counted. Holloway needs to take Topuria into deep waters and hope he drowns there. No one will really know if Topuria can sink or swim after the 15-minute mark and Holloway needs to capitalize on that.

Take control early

Assuming Topuria comes out swinging as we expect, Holloway needs to be prepared for that and has to change the narrative and fast. Holloway cannot let Topuria take control of the fight or he may never be able to get it back. He needs to be more aggressive than ever before to match and top Topuria.

Stay off the cage

Jack Shore made an interesting observation about Holloway ahead of his fight with Topuria. “I think Max is going to stay off the cage. I think every time you see Ilia knocks someone out, he gets them backed up and he gets them moving towards his right hand, whether he does it with his cutting off or with his body shot. He always lands that big right hand," he told Inside Fighting. Shore is exactly right, that's how Topuria finished Volkanovski and that could be how he aims to finish Holloway. Staying off the cage should be a priority for Holloway. We all saw Holloway point to the center of the cage versus Gaethje and he should have some tricks up his sleeve to bring Topuria there too.

Where to watch UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

UFC 308 will be broadcast on ESPN PPV at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 25. Click here to subscribe and watch on ESPN in the United States.

Viewers in Canada can watch on DAZN (click here for more information).

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