August 3, 2024 10: 09 am ET
The featherweight champion will be on the line at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
After much anticipation, Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) lastly has a date for his veryfirst title defense, which will come versus fan favorite and BMF titleholder Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) on the Oct. 26 card at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
UFC CEO Dana White revealed the news on Saturday (via X):
BIG NEWS FROM THE BOSS MAN 🚨#UFC308 https://t.co/BRP1P9bdMx
— UFC (@ufc) August 3, 2024
Topuria, No. 1 in the newest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, caught the belt in February when he stunned longtime champ Alexander Volkanovski with a second-round knockout at UFC298 The Spaniard hasactually been absolutelynothing brief of bold consideringthat winning the belt, calling his shots and making all sorts of vibrant declarations bout his future success.
He’ll have to back all that up versus No. 3-ranked Holloway, who comes into his chance to restore the 145-pound belt with a incredible quantity of momentum. “Blessed” is coming off a highlight-reel knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April, which caught him the BMF belt and an additional $600,000 in reward cash.
Holloway lost the featherweight title to Volkanovski in December 2019 and was notable to win it back in 2 rematch efforts. But now there is a brand-new champ at the leading of the stack, and Holloway will have the opportunity to get his strap back at the sa