Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway closed out Saturday’s UFC 308, an early (in the West) PPV card with the featherweight title on the line in Abu Dhabi.
Topuria, who had claimed gold off of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 back in February, was looking to make the first defense of his title, against another of the division’s legends. With Jose Aldo fighting at 135 and Conor McGregor in limbo (and fighting at either 155 or welterweight), Holloway was the biggest name possible for Topuria to face.
He was also the reigning UFC “BMF” champion, after flooring Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April.
Were Holloway to recapture the title, it would almost certainly establish him as the greatest featherweight of all time, a field that has Aldo and Volkanovski (with his three wins over “Blessed”) also in the mix.
As for Topuria, a big win could lead to the UFC finally visiting his native Spain.
In the co-main event on Saturday, former middleweight champ …