Max Holloway is preparing for a title fight against Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in October, emphasizing the differences in training for Topuria compared to his previous opponent Justin Gaethje, and aiming to prove doubters wrong.
Max Holloway has a plan for Ilia Topuria.
Earlier this year, Holloway scored one of the biggest wins of his career. He stopped Justin Gaethje with a dazzling knockout in the final second of their “BMF” title fight at UFC 300. Aside from being a highlight for the ages, the win also put Holloway in line to challenge newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. The showdown is set for the main event of UFC 308 this October.
With the bout a little over a month away, Holloway is deep into his training camp. Earlier this week, the former featherweight champion released a video of his preparation. In it, he discusses the differences in training for Topuria versus Gaethje.
“It’s MMA. Every guy, every opponent is different,” Holloway said. “Is Ilia different from Gaethje? Yes. Is the training for Gaethje versus Ilia different? Yes. But it’s the same. It’s MMA. It’s what we do.”
Holloway elaborated on his approach. “I fight a certain style, I fight a certain way. Opponents change but we try to stay the same… It’s MMA. You’re going to have to make shifts, especially when certain guys you’re fighting. Are Gaethje and Ilia the same opponent? No. Very different guys, very different approaches we’re going to use.”
Topuria and Gaethje certainly are very different fighters. While Gaethje is widely considered one of the most exciting fighters of all time, “The Highlight” is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Meanwhile, Topuria is only 27 years old, undefeated, and coming off a sensational knockout of long-time champion Alexander Volkanovski.
It’s a big test for “Blessed.” Given Topuria’s incredible win over a man who beat Holloway three times, some are skeptical about his chances of victory. But Holloway intends to silence those doubters next month.
“The Topuria vs. Volk fight, I learned a lot,” Holloway said. “Topuria is a killer, man. But I also learned to take concussions seriously.” After that fight, like I said, a lot of people think Volk turned around too early. I was one of those guys. But it is what it is; it’s the fight game.
He continued: “Volk was doing his thing in the beginning, landing some, getting some.” He was doing good until he wasn’t. So at the end of the day, there’s not really much you can take from that fight.
“That fight was only what, two rounds? I forget,” Holloway added casually. “It was a fast one.” You can’t really watch too much from that fight alone.
There’s a lot of other film that we’ve been watching on him,” he concluded. “I’m going to show you guys. I’m not one for talking; I like to show.” Tune in Oct. 26.
UFC 308 takes place on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.