In anticipation of Ilia Topuria’s upcoming title fight at UFC 308, Joe Rogan recently shared his opinions on the fighter’s preparation. Topuria’s extremely fast and flawless pad work astounded Rogan. Topuria is set to make his first featherweight title defense against BMF champion Max Holloway at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Early in his career, Topuria gained recognition as a top Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappler. However, as he advanced in the UFC, he transformed his fighting style into that of a devastating knockout artist.
Ahead of his title fight against Holloway, Topuria was spotted honing his close-range boxing skill. Rogan was drawn in by the footage demonstrating his strength and the sound of him striking the pads echoing throughout the room.
In a recent episode of his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the UFC commentator was left in awe of the reigning champion’s hand speed and expressed his admiration for Topuria’s technique, saying:
”Ilia Topuria is one of absolute best fighters in the world. The dude is just f***ing phenomenal. One of the things that is phenomenal about him is his technique. Watch him hit the punches. See how he’s moving his head when guy throws punches? Slipping just slightly. The speed, man, The f***ing speed of that. Look at the hand speed. F***ing incredible. If you know how difficult that is to do and do it that fast. I mean, these are like five, six punches a second and just phenomenal technique.’
Topuria proved his boxing prowess at UFC 298 when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to capture the featherweight title. Meanwhile, in his last octagon outing at UFC 300, Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje in the last moments of the fifth round, shocking everyone in the arena, including Topuria.
Ilia Topuria issues stern warning to Max Holloway
Max Holloway is highly regarded for his resilience inside the octagon. Despite his lengthy MMA career, the 32-year-old has never been knocked out. That being said, Ilia Topuria has continuously stated that he will be the first fighter to knock out ‘Blessed’ in their title fight at UFC 308.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Topuria suggested that Holloway should wear a helmet to protect himself during their fight, saying:
”The message for Max is I only have respect for him. But for the fight day, I recommend him to bring a helmet because he’s going to need it.”
