Max Holloway Criticizes Ilia Topuria Ahead of UFC 308
Max Holloway criticized Ilia Topuria’s fight IQ before UFC 308. Topuria then knocked him out in round three, as the UFC reported.
What Holloway was responding to
In the build-up, Topuria challenged Holloway to start the fight with the same urgency he had shown in the closing seconds of his April 2024 bout with Gaethje. Holloway interpreted the line as poor tactical advice and told Topuria to work on his fight IQ. The exchange was pre-fight trash talk, not evidence of how either man would perform once the bout began. Sherdog’s report on Holloway’s comments and the official event page provide the original context.
The October 2024 result
Topuria retained his featherweight championship with a knockout at 1:34 of round three in Abu Dhabi. It was the first knockout loss of Holloway’s career. The pre-fight prediction that experience and durability could frustrate Topuria did not come to pass that night.
The UFC’s official results list the finish and round. Holloway’s career profile covers his longer run at featherweight and lightweight.
What happened afterward
Topuria vacated the featherweight title in 2025, then won the vacant lightweight belt with a first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira in June 2025. In June 2026, Justin Gaethje stopped him by corner stoppage at the end of round four and won the title, according to Gaethje’s UFC record and the UFC Freedom 250 results.
Holloway defended his BMF belt against Dustin Poirier in July 2025, then lost it to Oliveira in March 2026. In July 2026, he beat Conor McGregor by first-round TKO after McGregor injured his knee. The UFC fighter record and official UFC 329 results document the later bouts.
The fight-IQ debate in hindsight
Holloway’s criticism was a reaction to a specific piece of pre-fight bravado, not a lasting verdict on Topuria’s ability. Topuria’s knockout win answered the immediate matchup question; subsequent title wins and losses for both men underline how quickly the competitive picture moved on. As of October 2026, their 2024 title fight remains a completed chapter in two active careers.
