Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway has been simulated ahead of UFC 308.
The UFC featherweight champion will make the first defense of his belt against two-time titleholder Holloway at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Fans are divided on who’ll emerge as the 145lb king when Topuria, who seems to be the next big thing, battles it out with one of the most popular men in MMA.
A simulation of the UFC 308 main event has suggested that Holloway will become a champion again by replicating his KO of Justin Gaethje from UFC 300.
Simulation predicts Max Holloway will KO Ilia Topuria at UFC 308
Boxing Fight Simulations is a popular YouTube page that uses video games to predict how upcoming and fantasy matchups will play out. Naturally, Topuria vs Holloway has been simulated ahead of UFC 308.
The fictional fight begins with a period of exciting striking exchanges before the champion takes Holloway to the floor multiple times and suffers a heavy knockdown in the final seconds of the first frame.
Topuria survived, but it was clear the challenger was the fresher man when they started trading blows at the start of round two.
However, the Spanish fighter managed to get the things to the floor again and open up a cut on Holloway’s nose, which prompted the cageside doctor to pause their clash for an inspection.
Luckily, he was allowed to continue. Topuria tried to take the fight out of the doctor’s hands as he swarmed for the finish in the third round.
Holloway was being written off by the commentators, who speculated that he was a couple more shots from being pulled out by the referee before the Hawaiian landed a massive counter that floored Topuria.
The overhand right left the champion motionless on the floor as a blood-soaked Holloway celebrated stretching his UFC win streak to four in a row in the best way possible.
Only time will tell if the simulation is proven correct, or if Topuria will improve to 16-0 in professional MMA and add another legend to his resume after putting Alexander Volkanovski to sleep earlier this year.
Illia Topuria has changed his stance on Max Holloway
Conor McGregor defended ‘all-time great’ Hollway after Topuria made disrespectful comments about him for losing when he fought ‘Notorious’ in 2013.
On Wednesday, at the UFC 308 media day, he was much more respectful about his next opponent.
Topuria said: “I have all the respect for him. He has achieved many great things in the sport. You can’t take credit from him. I have learned many, many things from him.
“He called me a fan. Yeah, I followed his career, I’ve been a fan. How can you not be a fan of Max Holloway? He’s been a great example for me but now it’s my time to be that example for the next generation.”
Topuria, Holloway, and McGregor are included in many people’s top five boxers in the UFC lists, but the champion thinks his next opponent is more than just a puncher.
Topuria added: “In reality, he’s a good striker. It’s not only boxer because calling himself the best boxer in the UFC is kind of a shame, I think, because he’s not the best boxer in the UFC. But he’s a good striker.
“He has a lot of experience, he’s very patient inside the octagon. But everyone is good when they can develop a style in the octagon, and someone is not putting the pressure on him.
“On Saturday night, he’s going to feel something he never felt with any other opponents that he had in the past. The pressure he’s going to feel with me, it’s going to be completely different.”
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