Topuria confident of early finish vs Holloway at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi

Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria remains a fan of Max Holloway, crediting the Hawaiian for being an inspiration for his UFC career.

But the 27-year-old Topuria said he plans to put aside any positive feelings on Saturday night when Holloway becomes his opponent at UFC 308, which will take place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

“I have all the respect for him,” Topuria said. “He’s a great fighter. He’s done many great things in the sport. You can’t take credit from him, so I have learned many, many things from him. He called me a fan.

“Yeah, I followed his career. I have been a fan. He’s been a great example for me, but now it’s my time to be that example for the new generation.”

Topuria (15-0), who was born in Germany to Georgian parents but lives in Spain, makes his first title defence.

Topuria captured the belt with a second-round technical knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California. Volkanovski had owned the title for four years, making five successful title defences.

That is until Topuria established control from the beginning.

“I think he’s an animal,” Holloway said. “A lot of people forget that when he came into the UFC, he got right in as a grappler and wrestler. That’s what he was. He came into the UFC, started knocking dudes out. His boxing is nice as a fighter. You cannot be a hater and say he’s not good. He did what he had to do to get to the position he has, so there’s no disrespect to that.

“But you get to see me come Saturday night.”

Holloway (26-7) showed at UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas that he is willing to take chances in what could be the fight of the year. He was comfortably ahead of Justin Gaethje for the ceremonial BMF title belt when Holloway pointed at the mat as the clocked ticked down, indicating he was willing to slug it out.

And that he did, sending Gaethje to the floor with a second left for a stunning finish.

Now Holloway, 32, gets his shot at the belt as the second-ranked challenger after winning four of his past five fights. His only loss was by unanimous decision to Volkanovski at UFC 276 in 2022 in Las Vegas.

He faces an opponent who has seen only two of his 15 fights go the distance.

“His cardio is outshining the opponent’s cardio because he’s hurting them early in their fights,” Holloway said. “The beautiful thing is I can’t wait. It’s going to be something special. Tune in Saturday night.”

Topuria said he was prepared to do whatever it takes, be it ending the fight quickly or going the full five rounds.

“I’m ready for 10 or 15 rounds,” Topuria said. “Whatever he wants to do, I can do it. But I don’t think that the fight will go the distance. I will finish him before that.”

Topuria confidently predicted an early finish, saying he will knock him out in the first round.

In the co-main event, No. 3 challenger Robert Whittaker (27-7) of Australia will face No. 13 Khamzat Chimaev (13-0) of Russia in a middleweight bout.

Chimaev dismissed any notion of the fight going to the judges, declaring that “I’m here to finish him”. His opponent Robert Whittaker, not backing down, responded: “He might be the best in wrestling, but we’re not going to be wrestling. I’ll be fighting my fight and we’ll see if he’s as good as he says.”

Intense back-and-forth exchanges between fighters are commonplace at such events and Thursday night’s public press conference was no different – until it was. Things took an unexpected turn when Dorobshokh Nabotov, an undefeated Tajik fighter yet to fight in UFC, directly addressed UFC CEO Dana White, requesting a chance to fight in the world’s leading sports promotion.

Nabotov, sat among fans, stood up and passionately declared: “I don’t have a question; I came here for a fight on short notice… I’ve never had a manager, I did it all by myself.”

White, impressed by the fighter’s determination, hinted the stunt might have done the trick and that a future opportunity could be in the offing.

White went on to highlight Abu Dhabi’s growing significance in the sport, calling it “a key location for the UFC”, stating “every event held in this city has been a huge success”.