Topuria still hasn't answered all questions.. Why is that being overlooked?

[The Legendary Scarface]

Before I go on my sloppy rant I just wanna say that I'm a fan of Ilia, he is an absolute MONSTER and obviously extremely dangerous for Max Holloway..

Now, as good as he is, we still haven't seen him in a gruesome 5 round fight. I know he went 5 rounds with Emmett but he was the one casually picking his shots, with a hurt Josh backing up. That definitely counts for something but we don't even have proof that he can keep the kind of pace that Max is accustomed to creating in a 5 rounder. We've seen Max eat big shots from powerful punchers, but we haven't seen Ilia go to deep waters and be the shark. These are real elements of this matchup that are kind of being overlooked IMO.

We all too often forget that the barrier to victory becomes greater and greater the higher up into the rankings you go, and that usually requires something new and adaptive from a champion if he's going to remain undefeated.

What happens if Max eats a bomb or two and we see a 3rd round. Will Topuria still have the power and be as dangerous? Will he be gassed? Can he eat Max's combos? We actually don't know.

Let's look at some things objectively in terms of advantages:

Durability? - Max
Chin? - Max
Cardio? - Max
Experience? - Max
Reach? - Max
Kicks? - Max

Hmm, but he's the underdog?


Every Conor has his Nate Diaz moment.

Max boxes his ears off in the championship rounds.

Y'all better hespect that man!!

EDIT:
Something that completely slipped my mind is also that Max has seen this style before. And he's literally the best in the world at neutralizing it. Topuria plods forward, with his hands up, and looks for openings with his jab and traditional linear boxing entries. Everyone predicting him to win is predicting he does that while getting Max up against the cage, and landing a perfectly placed shot on Max and Max for the very first time in his career falling. There are a lot of layers to this cake y'all want to eat. It's doable but we've literally never seen it before.

 

[roganisonly5foot3]

Maxs defensive strategy of blocking punches with his face for the last 10 years is going to catch up with him eventually, it always does. He just got dropped for the first time last fight. He already needs subtitles when you watch his interviews. I think he gets flattened next week

 

[The Legendary Scarface]

Maxs defensive strategy of blocking punches with his face for the last 10 years is going to catch up with him eventually, it always does. He just got dropped for the first time last fight. He already needs subtitles when you watch his interviews. I think he gets flattened next week

It's definitely possible. It has to happen in the first couple rounds though.
If it doesn't, Topuria's punches will be too labored afterwards and he will be too busy defending 6 punch combinations while breathing heavy.

 

[roganisonly5foot3]

I can’t believe Topuria is a 2 to 1 favorite though. While i do think he is going to win I would never put money on him at those odds. I thought this fight would be pretty much a pick’em. I don’t really gamble much anyway though, haven’t bet a fight in years

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

It's definitely possible. It has to happen in the first couple rounds though.
If it doesn't, Topuria's punches will be too labored afterwards and he will be too busy defending 6 punch combinations while breathing heavy.

How do we know Max will be able to set a pace on him. Dustin stopped Max's pace by hurting him counter strikes every time Max tried turning it up and. Ilia has the power to do the same and if he can make Max weary with the occasional big shot I don't see why he can't control the distance and pace like he did with Emmett.


Honestly for me it's a 50-50 fight, but the biggest thing is the amount of Damage Max has absorbed, he has to fall off eventually

 

[TadDunbar]

I'm picking Topuria but his resume is kinda weak.

 

[AbominableJoman]

Max is getting his brains bashed in by ilia. He has no chance

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

I can’t believe Topuria is a 2 to 1 favorite though. While i do think he is going to win I would never put money on him at those odds. I thought this fight would be pretty much a pick’em. I don’t really gamble much anyway though, haven’t bet a fight in years

Should be closer to a pick em, I'm not betting either way. Bet against Max on Justin, can't be fooled into doing it again.

 

[Travis Alexander]

Max is going to tko top in rd4/5 top will fade and Max will eat him up. Max is a better mma boxer with slicker movement, distance management, reach, chin and cardio. Gonna be a lot of crow eaters post fight.

 

[CasualBot]

silliya is a goof kook who bought a toy replica belt.

can he win? yes

do we hope he wins? no.

does anyone count out max after the justin fight?

 

[dipstickjimmy]

I can’t believe Topuria is a 2 to 1 favorite though. While i do think he is going to win I would never put money on him at those odds. I thought this fight would be pretty much a pick’em. I don’t really gamble much anyway though, haven’t bet a fight in years

That is specifically designed to get some money on Max. Then the line moves to get some money on Ilia and they keep it balanced. If $100 is wagered on a fight the book wants the payouts to total $99 or less. They keep their % and don't care who wins.

 

[Jinx_AA]

Love max and want him to win bigtime

But ilia is a great champion...he talks shit and finishes peopl brutally

He legit scary as hell

For all of maxes advantages listed

Ilia is
Faster
Stronger
More rounded
More vicious/dangerous finisher

Fantastic fight... If he put max out he top 3 p4p scariest fighter

That said - war max... But zero hate on ilia

 

[Substance Abuse]

I can’t believe Topuria is a 2 to 1 favorite though. While i do think he is going to win I would never put money on him at those odds. I thought this fight would be pretty much a pick’em. I don’t really gamble much anyway though, haven’t bet a fight in years

You sound poor.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

I think it's cause despite still being quite young, Max has been fighting forever and likely has more mileage than Topuria so people are thinking Max likely loses. Especially with the fact Max lost twice to the guy who Topuria brutally KO'ed. I don't think this is one of those fights where anyone is going to be accurately able to predict the outcome thus is why I would never bet on this fight if I was the gambling kind. Both guys are too capable of putting one another's lights out for me to ever want to confidently put my money on the line on either lol.

 

[xhaydenx]

Durability? - Max
Chin? - Max
Cardio? - Max
Experience? - Max
Reach? - Max
Kicks? - Max

Volk had all of these as well . . .

 

[Brigfa2]

Should be closer to a pick em, I'm not betting either way. Bet against Max on Justin, can't be fooled into doing it again.

That's your biggest problem, you looked at Justin fight like ''Dustin beat him so Justin will too'' and now looking at Ilia fight like ''He beat Justin so he could beat Ilia too''
Look every fight as an individual

 

[burningspear]

dont waste your expert eye, get down the bookies

 

[pv3Hpv3p]

Max is no walk in the park, but that chin can't last forever and Illia can crack.

Not a fight I would bet on

 

[The Legendary Scarface]

Volk had all of these as well . . .

Volk got his head kicked to Taiwan in the fight before.

 

[The Legendary Scarface]

Love max and want him to win bigtime

But ilia is a great champion...he talks shit and finishes peopl brutally

He legit scary as hell

For all of maxes advantages listed

Ilia is
Faster
Stronger
More rounded
More vicious/dangerous finisher

Fantastic fight... If he put max out he top 3 p4p scariest fighter

That said - war max... But zero hate on ilia

More rounded? Probably as an offensive grappler yes. But Ilia is not taking Max down and keeping him there. I'd argue that Max, with the fairly recent incorporation of kicks and knees is the more well rounded striker actually.

Ilia has faster hands and more knockout power without a doubt. But, like most guys with power, you can kind of take the steam off those shots once you tire em out a little bit and Max puts a pace on everyone so Topuria in my estimation has about 8 minutes or so to find that KO shot. Otherwise, it's Max's world.