Ilia Topuria should be unanimously anointed by everyone as Fighter of the Year after knocking out Max Holloway at UFC 308.
Not only did he get a first defense of his featherweight title after winning the title in the same year, ‘El Matador’ beat another one of the greatest all time, a man who had never absorbed a recorded knockdown in the UFC before this fight.
Max Holloway’s 13-fight winning streak which took him from 23-year-old prospect to multiple-time defending world champion inscribed him in the record books forever and marked him as a legend, the man who took down the GOAT Jose Aldo twice.
Holloway had never finished by strikes, and Ilia’s other title win came against a GOAT candidate when he wrenched the belt away from Alexander ‘the Great’ Volkanovski, also by knockout.
Topuria’s fists are grenades waiting to be unleashed, but the same is true of his main competitor, Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira. The light-heavyweight champion’s nickname literally translates as “Stone Hands” because of his knockout power.
Pereira’s left hook is the most famous signature weapon in the UFC today, being the deliverer of multiple knockdown/knockout blows. However, the Brazilian’s competition is far inferior to that of Holloway or Volkanovski.
Now we veer towards discussion of what the “Fighter of the Year” award is on a fundamental level, what it awards. To me, and to most, it rewards the fighter who accomplished the most incredible/difficult feats during the year.
While KOing Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree in one year is impressive, dispatching two featherweight GOATs by knockout is more so.
Much discussion has come up as to whether Topuria’s victories are the greatest back-to-back wins in MMA history. Many fans and analysts say it is, though even if it is not, the fact that it is even a discussion shows how much more impressive Topuria’s achievements are than beating three fighters who are good but not all-time greats, who do not hold a candle to Max Holloway and Alex Volkanovski.
