Max Holloway

ANALYSIS
It's the first knockout loss in Holloway's storied and future Hall of Fame career. Up until the end, Max did a pretty good job of avoiding Topuria's power shots. He ate too many leg kicks, but he was able to damage the champion with his trademark volume on the feet. Max also defended well on the mat despite giving up a pair of Round 1 takedowns. Everything changed early in Round 3 when one huge blow left him wobbled. Holloway didn't go down right away, but you could tell he was in huge trouble. Topuria floored the gas pedal and was able to land a knockdown moments later. Referee Marc Goddard was stepping in after a few follow-up shots. As great as Holloway has been in the past, he'll be 33 years of age this coming December, and there's a real chance this was his final chance to regain UFC gold. Max defeated Justin Gaethje at lightweight in his previous bout in April, so perhaps he'll explore future matchups at 155 pounds.

ANALYSIS
Holloway will challenge the featherweight champion in Topuria, who defeated Holloway's noted nemesis Alexander Volkanovski to claim the weight class' throne. Holloway is coming off three straight victories, most recently taking care of Justin Gaethje in the fifth round of a fight back in April. He'll look to claim the title and hand Topuria his first UFC loss.

ANALYSIS
The "title" victory is of course, secondary. What is front and center is Holloway's dominant performance against an excellent opponent as a +155 underdog. Max was in firm control of this fight the entire way. Working behind his jab with his trademark volume, Holloway attempted 309 total strikes compared to just 199 from Justin. He broke his opponent's nose with a spinning kick at the end of Round 1 and knocked him out with just a second remaining in what was an absolutely wild, back-and-forth exchange. It was by far Holloway's best performance since his record-breaking beating of Calvin Kattar back in January 2021. There's a ton of options for Max moving forward, but the most likely scenario is that he drops back down to featherweight and challenges new champion Ilia Topuria for the 145-pound crown. Topuria's win over Alexander Volkanovski was a massive victory for Max, as well, as he is now likely next in line in a quest to regain his UFC Featherweight Championship. In the meantime, Holloway will walk away with a massive, $600,000 bonus -- $300,000 for Performance of the Night and $300,000 for Fight of the Night.

ANALYSIS
Both Holloway and Gaethje are currently on two-fight win streaks, though Alexander Volkanovski is the only person who has been able to take down Holloway since December 2019. The two are fairly evenly matched size-wise, though Holloway has far more experience fighting in the UFC.

ANALYSIS
Holloway's dominance over everyone in the featherweight division not named Alexander Volkanovski continues. Entering as upwards of a -800 favorite, it was widely assumed Max would dominate the since-retired Jung, and for the most part, he did. Holloway ate a few big strikes here and there, but he handled them well and dished out more than his fair of punishment in return. Max has never been known as much of a finisher, but one right hand put Jung out in an instant. Even with the result, both fighters did enough to take home a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus when it was all said and done. Overall, it was another excellent effort in a fight in which Holloway had nothing to gain and everything to lose. Where Holloway goes from here remains an open question. The company has no incentive to book a fourth fight between he and Volkanovski despite the fact it's clear as day he's the second-best 145-pounder on the roster. Conor McGregor was the last man other than Volk to defeat Max at featherweight. That came on August 17, 2013, more than a decade ago.