Why I think Max Holloway will defeat Ilia Topuria

[Qays Stetkevich]

Ilia isn't a star yet, not by a mile. The only thing that would make him one is spectacularly knocking Max out.
I've got Max by TKO in the late rounds as we've never seen Ilia on the back foot. I bet against him when it came to Gaethje, regretted it.

Max has long been one of the largest cutters in the UFC and has comfortably gone up and down, I'm sure he'll be more than fine.

I think a person needs to defend their title a few times before they're called a GOAT candidate. Guy could be the next Renan Barao for all we know.

The Max fight seals my opinion of Topuria. I have an asterisk next to his Volk win as he'd just been slept by Islam. He took a round and a half to submit Bryce Mitchell, Emmett blasts him in 90 seconds. He took Emmett to a decision right after Yair was able to finish him. Outside of those two fights, I don't think much highly of his opponent's so far. He looks sharp, but I need to see more before I board any types of hype trains. This is either a derailment, or a passing of the torch, a star created or a legacy defined.

Were people always like this (e.g., "After winning the belt this guy is GOAT"), or did we actually wait until someone dominantly defended their belt a few times? I swear before Conman and the era of tools like DJ Khaled hit the scene people weren't talking about GOAT/P4P/Best Ever nearly as much, with the (rightful) exception of Jones. But now it's like UFC's publicity angles are being parroted by so many fans and sherbros, where *every* new fighter/champ is THE BEST EVA. Looking back now, the media train and hyperbole behind the boring and risk-averse Edwards and his boring reign were comical, but tons bought into it.

 

[Rapa]

Max Holloway defeats Ilia Topuria

Max Holloway has faced the best of the UFC featherweights and I believe he has the tools to beat Ilia. He has insane striking volume and a legendary chin and Ilia hasn’t really faced a striker like holloway who can barrage him with punches and kicks. As long as Max can avoid the power shots of Ilia he will win by decision based on strikes alone.

Ilia is better porier and u saw what happend when max fought porier twice
Ilia has better boxing technique max has volume but in pocket ilia fucks him up if anything goes wrong ilia can just wrestle fuck him there is no way max will win expect some bomb spining kick or shit like that he has to ko ilia with one shot or he will lose
You may think i am wrong but come back after fight and read this again

 

[Rapa]

He will because he is a better -much better, IMO- boxer, has a big reach advantage and his TDD should be enough.
Plus Ilia doesn't like to be on the back foot, and Max will most probably force him to.

The main question is how Max comes down back to 145. If he translates fine, he should be a strong favorite.

First he is not even close to ilia in pure boxing and second they have same reach
And last you have no idea about fighting

 

[Striker Fox]

I would say Gaethje hits harder than Top and Max ate his shots and then slumped him, he also ate all of Dustin's shots who probably hits harder than little Top as well.

Max is going to eat the manlets shots then put a beating on him.

tbf Max wasn't depleted facing Gaethje at LW like he will be against Topuria at FW

 

[Billthebutcher]

Ilia has not competed at Max's level, other than a lucky k.o. of a compromised Volk. Max beats Top's brakes off.

 

[WillyWarminski]

Fairly certain Topi doesn't strike as hard as Gaethje. If Max took Justin's best he can take Topi as well. If Max can win 1 of first 3 rds ai think he wins as I believe he takes rds 4 an 5....

Accuracy trumps J.G's power. Hitting the right part of the chin seems more Topi's ability.

 

[Streeter]

He took Justin's best with ease and got rocked numerous times by Dustin, who doesn't hit as hard as Justin.

Hitting hard doesn't matter if you can't land clean. Ilia is a much better boxer than Justin and can find ways to land clean shots, I'm sure.

U less your Poatan but Hustin Caught Max with some good ones and Max took it. Was a different Max imo that fought Dustin lately Max has been really focused an on point. That Max is tough to beat at FW.

 

[StonedLemur]

Fairly certain Topi doesn't strike as hard as Gaethje. If Max took Justin's best he can take Topi as well. If Max can win 1 of first 3 rds ai think he wins as I believe he takes rds 4 an 5....

Only difference really is Gaethje only throws one or two at a time, whereas Topuria throws 3-4-5 punch combinations.

Max is my dude so I don't think he'll just stand there and let Topuria just tee off.
I see the same movement he used against Justin, poppin and moving sir.

 

[burningspear]

I've been training/following boxing for more than 15 years.

Ilia, coming from a grappling background, has developed a very technically sound boxing. Orthodox, compact, "defend yourself at all times", don't overcommit...
Plus, he has power and hand speed, his combos are veeery crisp and he uses levels pretty well.

Max and Volk, and I'd say Dustin, have better or much better boxing in an MMA context.
It's fairly obvious IMO.

Even when he 'dominates' Max ends up looking like he's been in a car wreck.
And Volk getting ktfo didnt sway you lol
In October we shall see how obvious it is

 

[Rubios]

First he is not even close to ilia in pure boxing and second they have same reach
And last you have no idea about fighting

-Sigh-
Why do you have to be so angry?
I'm not that wise, but know a thing or two.
You can have a different opinion without despising mine.

1st.
Max is 10cm taller than Ilia. Allow me to take the UFC reach data with a grain of salt, specially considering Ilia's ape index is nothing special.
Neither is Max's, to be fair.

But 10cm of HEIGHT are very noticeable, reach aside. Opponent's chin is higher and you need to adjust the trajectory of your punches.
It's much more comfortable to fight a shorter opponent (since we are not talking about huge height gaps), you can launch naturally.

2nd.
I've "witnessed" Top's shadowboxing and pad work twice. It's a thing of beauty, for sure.
He is a technically proficient orthodox boxer with heavy hands and fast combos, with a great instinct to mix levels.

On the other hand, Max has better reaction time, hand speed, timing, distance management...
His boxing is much more fluid and natural, that's why you can see it as inferior technically. Because Top is very self-aware of his boxing technique at all times, while Max just flows.

I give you that, in the pocket, I would give the edge to Ilia.
But... I'm not even sure about that.

 

[Rio Ferdinand]

Really hope Max beats the living shit out of the spanish conor mcgregor from wish.com

 

[RockyLockridge]

I would say Gaethje hits harder than Top and Max ate his shots and then slumped him, he also ate all of Dustin's shots who probably hits harder than little Top as well.

Max is going to eat the manlets shots then put a beating on him.

I dont feel like gaethje it max clean many times.

 

[Rubios]

First: I don't like the feeling of a champion not being the best fighter in the division.

I'm not only from Spain, but from Valencia. And I've spent many summers in Alicante; so I know pretty much everyone from Ilia's former gym before he moved to Madrid a few months ago.

I've had only brief small talk with him a couple times. His public persona is unsufferable, but many people say he's a great dude.
Everyone agrees, though, that he -and his closer team- have a huge ego problem and have become nearly delusional.

I had the opportunity to have "off the record" chats with many of his training partners, and all of them agreed that he had no chance against Volk.
At 145, Volk came from soundly beating Yair and badly dismantling Max.

Those opinions came from people involved in his training regime and watching tons of tape from Volk.
An honorable defeat against such a legend was the best case scenario.

But, again, EVERYONE agreed he didn't face Volk that night.

Of course, I didn't exchange a single private word with the Climent brothers or anybody in his inner circle.

This time around, EVERYONE that has trained or still trains on a regular basis with Ilia agree that Max is the superior fighter.
But, again, Topuria comes basically unscratched and Max comes from a war against JG and has to cut 10 pounds.

I would be very proud for a very slight relative and a gym where I've trained a few dozen times if Topuria secures the third position at featherweight, as I consider Volk and Max fairly above his level.

And I believe Top should be the favorite against Yair, Sterling, Ortega and Evloev.

Being the third guy at just 27 in a division as deep as FW is a HUGE FEAT.

But Ilia as the champ strikes me as a travesty.
He may keep improving to be a solid, undeniable champ. He's not there yet, IMO (and many others).

 

[Rapa]

First: I don't like the feeling of a champion not being the best fighter in the division

Well you are lucky ilia is best fighter in FW history and he will prove it but since u are hater even after he dominates max u will say max was past prime or something like that

 

[Rapa]

First: I don't like the feeling of a champion not being the best fighter in the division.

I'm not only from Spain, but from Valencia. And I've spent many summers in Alicante; so I know pretty much everyone from Ilia's former gym before he moved to Madrid a few months ago.

I've had only brief small talk with him a couple times. His public persona is unsufferable, but many people say he's a great dude.
Everyone agrees, though, that he -and his closer team- have a huge ego problem and have become nearly delusional.

I had the opportunity to have "off the record" chats with many of his training partners, and all of them agreed that he had no chance against Volk.
At 145, Volk came from soundly beating Yair and badly dismantling Max.

Those opinions came from people involved in his training regime and watching tons of tape from Volk.
An honorable defeat against such a legend was the best case scenario.

But, again, EVERYONE agreed he didn't face Volk that night.

Of course, I didn't exchange a single private word with the Climent brothers or anybody in his inner circle.

This time around, EVERYONE that has trained or still trains on a regular basis with Ilia agree that Max is the superior fighter.
But, again, Topuria comes basically unscratched and Max comes from a war against JG and has to cut 10 pounds.

I would be very proud for a very slight relative and a gym where I've trained a few dozen times if Topuria secures the third position at featherweight, as I consider Volk and Max fairly above his level.

And I believe Top should be the favorite against Yair, Sterling, Ortega and Evloev.

Being the third guy at just 27 in a division as deep as FW is a HUGE FEAT.

But Ilia as the champ strikes me as a travesty.
He may keep improving to be a solid, undeniable champ. He's not there yet, IMO (and many others).

Stay salty dude when ilia destroys max and makes it look easy u will have new "better fighter than ilia" but he will fuck him up too
Funny thing is ilia can just wrestle fuck and sub max if he wanted to

 

[ThaiSexPills]

I hope max humbles this dude but I really don’t know. Topuria looks like a killer. I’m picking max but I may be proven wrong again.

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

Max got that dog in em!

 

[liner]

This is a case of always go with the younger fighter.

No one has beat topuria for a reason.

Not that this matters but the division is so much more interesting with Max out of it . Hopefully if he loses he goes to 55 for the rest of his career

 

[Goutfather]

Well you are lucky ilia is best fighter in FW history and he will prove it but since u are hater even after he dominates max u will say max was past prime or something like that

but max is likely past his prime, and he does have tons of mileage, and he is cutting a lot of weight, and he is older… it’s all true. tbh i’ve never been completely sold on max being a goat-level fighter. of course he has his moments, but topuria likely beats him in a game of standing and trading.

as for topuria being a goat, that’s another matter. he needs to defend that belt quite a few times. he’s young and fast. let’s see if he can pull it off when his natural abilities fade.

 

[LincolnHawk1]

The problem is I think Max has always tended to depend a lot on his chin walking though offence to land his volume and Topuria is arguably the biggest puncher he's ever faced,

I mean Volk is also a pretty effective volume puncher but you saw he didnt want to commit nearly as much to that against Illa and then got KOed anyway.

​

That’s fair, however it can’t be said enough volk had come off a head kick ko that had his lights turn off 3 months prior to the ilia fight. He was coming back way too quick and they shouldn’t have had that fight happen for a couple more months after at least. He was compromised from the beginning of the fight imo. Round one volk won on everyone score card so yes he was having success.

The strategy for max in this fight that he absolutely has to implement is fighting long and not allowing Ilia to back him up against the cage. He needs to utilize legs kicks early and often as well as teep kicks. Stop ilia from moving forward and disrupt his timing and movement. Use the volume and cut angles two things he is great at. Make this a war and volume and movement the whole time. I think that is his path to a win. I am nervous though if he does that and has success ilia will start the grappling spamming and mix it up.