One former champ isn't sold on Topuria's resume — even after a crushing first-round finish. With a thunderous first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira, the undefeated champion delivered one of the most emphatic statements of his young career. Max Holloway, who was knocked out by Topuria at UFC 308, is now making media rounds ahead of his UFC 318 showdown with Dustin Poirier, scheduled for July 19 in New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center — a trilogy bout that will settle the score between the two rivals — a bout that marks Poirier’s retirement fight.
Former UFC Champion and Ilia Topuria KO Victim Throws Shade on Undefeated Run originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
One former champ isn't sold on Topuria's resume — even after a crushing first-round finish.
Ilia Topuria’s performance at UFC 317 sent shockwaves through the featherweight division. With a thunderous first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira, the undefeated champion delivered one of the most emphatic statements of his young career. But not everyone is convinced. As the hype train rolls on, one former champion is telling fans to slow down.
Max Holloway, who was knocked out by Topuria at UFC 308, is now making media rounds ahead of his UFC 318 showdown with Dustin Poirier, scheduled for July 19 in New Orleans at the Smoothie King Center — a trilogy bout that will settle the score between the two rivals — a bout that marks Poirier’s retirement fight.
While promoting the event, Holloway appeared in a viral interview with @shak_fu, shared by Home of Fight, where he downplayed Topuria’s recent streak.
‘He has names and he beat the names — you can’t deny that,’ Holloway said. ‘It just sucks with everything that was going on with that Volk fight… people are just looking at the name and not the record. Charles was on a 1-fight win streak. At the end of the day, they’re just names. UFC is lining them up and he’s just knocking them down.’
To clarify, the three names Holloway referenced were Alexander Volkanovski, himself, and Charles Oliveira — all former or current champions. Holloway's point was that while the names carry weight, the circumstances around each bout warrant more context.
👀⚡️Max Holloway believes Ilia Topuria’s 3-fight win streak is overrated:
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 13, 2025
"People just look at the names… Volk was coming off what he did… Oliveira was on a one-fight win streak."
🎥 @Shak_Fupic.twitter.com/G1h0hPAmcO
Some fans backed Holloway’s breakdown. One wrote, ‘You can’t disagree with him.’ Others weren’t so forgiving: ‘You sound salty, champ,’ and ‘Never thought I’d see Max cope. Volks next fight he became champ, Charles should’ve beat Arman but lost the split. Max just got done beating up Justin. It’s not like these guys were losing to bums like Tony Ferguson at the end of his career and that’s the version Ilia fought.’
While Ilia Topuria continues to clean out contenders, not everyone agrees the names on his record tell the full story.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
