The Ultimate Fighting Championship looks to have yet another full-fledged European superstar on its hands at 145 pounds.
Ilia Topuria brought down Max Holloway with punches in the third round of their UFC 308 headliner, as he retained his undisputed featherweight championship on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Stopped by strikes for the first time in his 34-fight career, Holloway (26-8, 22-8 UFC) met his end 1:34 into Round 3.
Topuria (16-0, 8-0 UFC) broke down the Hawaiian with leg kicks and right hands over the top. Holloway answered with his patented jab, doing all he could to keep the champion at bay with his superior length. It worked for a time. Topuria cracked him with a right hook in the third round and flurried with body-head combinations. A sweeping left hook sent Holloway crashing to the canvas in a semi-conscious heap before the Spaniard closed it out with short punches and hammerfists.
Meanwhile, Allstars Training Center product Khamzat Chimaev disposed of Robert Whittaker with a face crank in the first round of their middleweight co-main event. Whittaker (26-8, 17-6 UFC) conceded defeat 3:34 into Round 1, suffering his first submission loss in almost 13 years.
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Chimaev (14-0, 8-0 UFC) struck for a takedown inside the first minute, kneed the body and legs, outscrambled the former champion and grounded him a second time. He then transitioned to the back, hammered away with punches and slipped his arms into place for the crank. Whittaker tapped immediately, appearing to have suffered an injury to his jaw. Kills rarely come cleaner at such a high level.
It was the ninth first-round finish of Chimaev’s career.
Elsewhere, Magomed Ankalaev fortified his position as the No. 1 contender at 205 pounds with a unanimous decision over the American Top Team-trained Aleksandar Rakic in a three-round light heavyweight showcase. Ankalaev (19-1-1, 11-1-1 UFC) swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from the judges.
Rakic (14-5, 6-4 UFC) lost his way after a competitive first round. Ankalaev pressed forward behind front kicks to the body and his educated left hand, targeting the head and body with similar fervor. He kept his foot on the accelerator down the stretch, tagged Rakic repeatedly, thwarted an attempted takedown and stayed busy in the clinch with knee strikes and short punches.
Afterward, Ankalaev set his sights on undisputed light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Further down the main draw, Manchester Top Team’s Lerone Murphy called upon close-range elbow strikes, timely takedowns and unshakeable resolve in a unanimous decision over Dan Ige in a three-round featherweight attraction. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Murphy (15-0-1, 7-0-1 UFC).
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Ige (18-9, 10-8 UFC) had his moments. He sat down the ex-Full Contact Contender titleholder with a counter left hook in the first round and flirted with a pair of arm-triangles in the third. Murphy largely owned the spaces in between with cleaner standup—he cut the Hawaiian near the right eye and across the bridge of the nose—and an effective clinch. He made a stronger closing argument, too, as he secured a late takedown, consolidated it with some ground-and-pound and briefly sought a brabo choke.
The undefeated Murphy has posted seven straight wins since his split draw with Zubaira Tukhugov four-plus years ago.
Finally, Sharabutdin Magomedov kept his perfect professional record intact and do so in jaw-dropping fashion, as he brought down onetime Fight Nights Global champion Armen Petrosyan with a double spinning backfist in the second round of their middleweight appetizer. Magomedov (15-0, 4-0 UFC) drew the curtain 4:52 into Round 2.
Petrosyan (9-4, 3-3 UFC) crowded him with active kicks and repeated kicks to the legs, only to be victimized by one of the most spectacular finishes in recent memory. Late in the second round, Magomedov cut loose with a spinning backfist from the right side. With the blow partially blocked by the Petrosyan, he immediately spun to the other side and connected. The Armenian kickboxer crashed to the canvas and turned away from contact, resulting in the stoppage.
The 33-year-old Petrosyan has lost back-to-back bouts.
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