Prior to the Topuria loss, Holloway scored an iconic knockout of Justin Gaethje in his return to lightweight at UFC 300. This time, Holloway looked like a much more natural 155-pounder than he did when he lost to Poirier on short notice for the interim title at UFC 236.

Some are worried that Max Holloway's KO loss to Ilia Topuria will cause him to be tentative at UFC 318, but one MMA legend doesn't think so.

Max Holloway praises Ilia Topuria after his back-to-back knockouts, showing respect for the rising star’s dominant performances.

Max Holloway expressed that he might enter title contention if he gets a UFC 300-like moment against Dustin Poirier.

Max Holloway believes Ilia Topuria's recent run isn't as good as people think and he explains why it isn't as good as some think.

Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is on one of the most impressive three-fight stretches in recent memory after scoring knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway, and most recently Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317.

On July 19, Max Holloway returns to the Octagon for the first time since his UFC 308 loss to Ilia Topuria when he defends his BMF title against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 318 main event.

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.

Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) was knocked out for the first time in his career by Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) in their featherweight title fight at UFC 308 last October. Both fighters have since moved up to lightweight, with Topuria capturing the vacant belt with a knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.