Ilia Topuria Promises Quick KO If Max Holloway Agrees to Early Brawl at UFC 308

Ilia Topuria is confident as ever going into his first featherweight title defense.

Topuria puts his strap on the line against Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. And “El Matador” vows to beat Holloway at his own game.

While Holloway was slightly removed from the title picture until recently, he earned his shot with a BMF title win over Justin Gaethje at lightweight at UFC 300 this past April. “Blessed” battered Gaethje for five rounds before iconically inviting him to a slugfest in center of the Octagon and knocking him out in a buzzer beater.

Topuria has promised to invite Holloway to a slugfest at UFC 308, but he will do so in the opening seconds of the fight. And if Holloway obliges, Topuria is confident he won’t take more than 10 seconds to hand the former featherweight champ the first knockout loss of his career.

UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+ . Order Now!

“I will be there in the middle of the Octagon in the first 10 seconds,” Topuria told Ariel Helwani. “I want to offer the most exciting first 10 seconds in UFC history. And I want to have the fastest knockout in the UFC history with my hands. Because Jorge [Masvidal] has it with a knee, I want to do it with the hands… I’m so excited. I don’t have any doubts that I’m gonna knock him out. If he stays in the middle in the first 10 seconds of the fight, we’re gonna see the fastest knockout in UFC history.”

Topuria won the strap with a knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February. Holloway has had a trilogy with “The Great,” falling short all three times. Topuria claims Volkanovski is a tougher matchup than Holloway.

“For me and for everyone [Volkanovski is a tougher matchup than Holloway],” Topuria said. “Alex was really really tough opponent for me. And he’s a tough opponent for everyone. He didn’t lose in the featherweight division for how long.”