Topuria Claims He Would Beat O’Malley and Holloway
Ilia Topuria’s comments about hypothetical fights with Sean O’Malley and Max Holloway never became a matchup with O’Malley. Topuria did meet Holloway at UFC 308, knocking him out in the third round to defend the featherweight title. He later moved to lightweight, where Justin Gaethje stopped him in June 2026 to take the championship.
The O’Malley talk was hypothetical
In 2024, Topuria spoke confidently about how a fight with then-bantamweight champion O’Malley might go. It was a hypothetical cross-division matchup, and the UFC never booked the two to fight. Topuria’s immediate assignment was a featherweight title defense against Holloway, a former champion and BMF titleholder.
Topuria stopped Holloway at UFC 308
Topuria defeated Holloway by knockout at 1:34 of Round 3 on Oct. 26, 2024. The UFC’s official result marked the first time Holloway had been stopped by strikes in his career. Topuria later vacated the featherweight title to move up and won the vacant lightweight belt by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June 2025.
A later title change at lightweight
Topuria’s lightweight reign ended at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, 2026, when Gaethje defeated him by fourth-round corner stoppage. The UFC’s event report records Gaethje’s win and his capture of the undisputed title. The record now shows the distinction between Topuria’s past claims about O’Malley and the fights he actually had with Holloway, Oliveira and Gaethje.
Sources
Tags: MMA
