Max Holloway has a plan for Ilia Topuria.
Earlier this yr, Holloway scored one of many greatest wins of his profession, stopping Justin Gaethje with a blinding knockout within the closing second of their “BMF” title struggle at UFC 300. Apart from being a spotlight for the ages, the win additionally put Holloway in line to problem newly topped featherweight champion Ilia Topuria for the title in the primary occasion of UFC 308 this October.
With the bout somewhat over a month away, Holloway is within the thick of his coaching camp and earlier this week the previous featherweight champion launched a video of his preparation the place he discusses the variations in coaching for Topuria versus Gaethje.
“It’s MMA. Each man, each opponent is completely different,” Holloway mentioned. “Is Ilia completely different from Gaethje? Sure. Is the coaching for Gaethje versus Ilia completely different? Sure. However it’s the identical. It’s MMA. It’s what we do. I struggle a sure model, I struggle a sure method. Opponents change however we attempt to keep the identical… It’s MMA. You’re going to must make shifts, particularly when sure guys you’re preventing. Are Gaethje and Ilia the identical opponent? No. Very completely different guys, very completely different approaches we’re going to make use of.”
Topuria and Gaethje definitely are very completely different. Whereas Gaethje is broadly thought-about to be probably the most thrilling fighters of all-time, “The Spotlight” can be nearer to the tip of his profession than the start. In the meantime, Topuria is just 27 years previous, undefeated, and coming off a sensational knockout of long-time champion Alexander Volkanovski.
It’s a giant check for “Blessed,” and given Topuria’s unimaginable win over a person who beat Holloway thrice, some are skeptical about his possibilities of victory. However Holloway intends to silence these doubters subsequent month.
“The Topuria vs. Volk struggle, I discovered lots,” Holloway mentioned. “Topuria is a killer, man. However I additionally discovered to take concussions significantly. After that struggle, like I mentioned, lots of people assume Volk rotated too early. I used to be a kind of guys. However it’s what it’s, the struggle recreation, he and his workforce thought they had been prepared. Topuria went on the market and did his factor.
“Volk was doing his factor to start with, touchdown some, getting some. He was doing good till he wasn’t. So on the finish of the day, there’s not likely a lot you may take from that struggle. That struggle was solely what, two rounds? I neglect. It was a quick one. You may’t actually watch an excessive amount of. There’s a number of different movie that we’ve been watching on him, so I’m going to point out you guys. I’m not one for speaking. I like to point out. Tune in Oct. 26.”
UFC 308 takes place on Oct. 26 at Etihad Enviornment in Abu Dhabi.
